“’Be afraid and do it anyways because you would not want to look back and regret not having that amazing experience’ Man, was that true because I do not regret one single minute of that trip.”

Senior biology and chemistry major, Savanna Gonzalez, was talking about ULM’s study abroad trip to Merida, Mexico.
Gonzalez and 14 other students traveled to Merida, Mexico in June with Dr. Charles Holloway, professor of world languages, and his wife Carol.

In a press release, Holloway said that the program was different from just visiting another country as a tourist because the students used the Spanish language every day, lived in homes with Mexican host families and took classes in Spanish.

Gonzalez made it clear that there was only a communication barrier if you allowed there to be one.
Holloway said the program allowed students to experience total cultural immersion.

According to Gonzalez, Mexico is saturated in a beautiful, historical culture.
“I learned that Mexico as a whole has a wonderful and beautiful past containing stories of hardships but also many stories of the same people overcoming those same hardships,” Gonzalez said.
And with this beautiful history, the students made history of their own and planted an arbol de la amistad which means a tree of friendship.

This tree was planted in front of the host language school, the Centro de Idiomas del Sureste and symbolizes the 45 years of friendship between ULM and the CIS.
Gonzalez said that this trip was important in growing friendships that would last forever.
“Not only was everything we did on the trip amazing, but also the people on the trip were too. We each got to know each other which made saying goodbye a little harder for some of us,” Gonzalez said.