Malia in Oahu

Update 11/28/12: A few photos of our bon voyage Malia staff lunch are now posted on Facebook.

“If you come here to help me, you’re wasting your time. If you come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” —Lilla Watson

In 1991 as a graduate student of International Relations, I signed up for a Global Exchange Reality Tour to Cuba. I wanted to learn about the impacts of the U.S. embargo on Cuba and understand what the current socioeconomic realities of the Special Period were on the nation. That trip dramatically expanded my understanding of the power of travel.

While I had backpacked to over 30 countries before that Reality Tour, I had never experienced that type of life sharing journey before. I engaged with grandparents, doctors, teachers, artists, musicians and politicians. In effect Reality Tours changed my life.  I experienced connection and insights, and returned to the United States committed to advocate for sane U.S. foreign policy. Once home, I promptly cut out and placed Lilla’s quote (see above) on my fridge. Little did I know that six years later I’d start working at Global Exchange, where Lilla’s quote found a new home on the Global Exchange office wall.

Visiting Art and Hope in Cuba, with Ethical Traveler

Today it is my bittersweet honor to announce that after almost 16 vibrant years I am transitioning out of Reality Tours. Being the Director has been a true vocation. I’ve had the unique opportunity to combine my skills as an educator, social justice activist and alternative travel business woman to build up Reality Tours’ travel destinations, themes and reach.

Looking back I sit and smile thinking of all the talented, opinionated and solidarity minded people that ebbed and flowed through the Reality Tours department in San Francisco. And I think of the everyday heroes in the U.S. and all around the world whose  generosity of spirit welcomed us, collaborated with us and compelled us to meet them as brothers and sisters. We learned about their struggles, successes and aspirations which inspired us to seek changes in U.S. foreign and economic policies.

Princeton University in Mostar, Bosnia, 2012

I know the model of socially responsible travel to educate and inspire advocacy works. In fact, I could fill volumes based on my personal experiences and those often brilliant, joyful and incredibly painful moments of learning.

From the jungles of the Amazon and the struggle of the Sarayuku nation, to the healing and rehabilitation efforts in IDP camps of Northern Uganda; from facilitating thousands through migration in Havana and sharing the incredible tenacity of spirit of Cuban’s through the “fruits” of their Revolution and in their models of sustainability post “peak oil” to learning about how poachers become conservationists in Tanzania; from the smiles and solemn survival stories of children saved from the sex tourism industry in Cambodia, Nepal, Peru & Thailand to the important organizing efforts of elders training the next generation of leaders in Argentina, Brazil, South Africa and Vietnam… I leave Reality Tours personally and professionally enriched with memories and experiences, and breathtaking vistas.

Malia with Yury, Ecuador Reality Tours program officer

To each of the program officers who so diligently work to take care of every creature comfort, airport transit, hotel reservation, and days and days of program confirmations, thank you for your solidarity!  It is such necessary work, yet it is painstaking and not so glamorous. When Reality Tours runs a 100 departures a year and 98 go off perfectly, nobody knows how much work it takes to make that happen! You are all stars.

Reality Tours would not exist without our members and supporters. Sometimes I’ve called you strangers, then associates and later friends, collaborators, teachers and alumni. I’ve shared some of my deepest human connections beside you, and cultivated some of my closest friendships.

Some of you “serial trippers” know I will miss traveling with you! Again, I could write volumes on what I have seen as humans blossom, when we disconnect from the phones, computers and to-do lists and when we truly spend time to talk, share and push our comfort zones to be and to grow. How many times have I lead a group when each person typically required 1-2 feet around them to have their “zone” of comfort, only by the end of a tour to see everyone touching arms and hugging their new friends good-bye? There are so many surprising rewards on a group travel experience.

Suffolk Univeristy group visiting an orphanage in Busia, Uganda

For those of you I giggled with trying to find a bathroom to wash my fingers after blue ink was all over my face in Tehran, or scrambled to find  “relief” in the fields of Nagpur, India or tried out bartering in crafts markets in Amman knowing but a few words in Arabic, I thank you. To those I cried with, flooded by the power of the human spirit hiking through the Cu Chi and the Sarajevo tunnels; trying to get through check points from the Occupied Territories in Palestine into Israel; and being permeated by the horrific human costs of war in the War Remembrance Museum in Ho Chi Minh City and in Pyong Yang, the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg… I thank you. To those I just held hands with as we heard the testimonies of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, and walking through the Killing Fields, I thank you. And, for those that I dragged out to teach salsa dancing to over and over, ya tu sabes, gracias.

Kevin and Reede being “Good Sports” as my sons dress up

Words cannot express my deepest appreciation to the Global Exchange founders Kevin Danaher, Kirsten Moller and Medea Benjamin to whom I  have been so blessed to work with. They each are hard working visionaries and phenomenal human beings, yet they are also friends, babysitters and cuddlers, and mentors. How I love and admire each of you!

Global Exchange has been a family to me. To all the members and staff, and especially to those that serve and have served on the Board of Directors, you are brothers and sisters and I thank you for your commitment to make this world a better place. Because of your tenacity and persistence, I know “another world is possible”.  I am who I am because of my years at Global Exchange, and I  look forward to moving forward pa’lante and continuing to using my life in service to humanity and to the planet, because its liberation is bound up with mine!

With Aloha,
Malia Everette

Kevin Danaher, Co-Founder of Global Exchange

Have you ever wondered where that first Reality Tour visited? Reality Tours associate Kathleen Reynolds had the opportunity to ask Global Exchange Co-founder Kevin Danaher to find out:

Kathleen: Where was the very first Reality Tour?

Kevin: Actually it was to Mozambique and Zimbabwe. I had scored some funding for Africa educational work. With a friend of mine from Chicago, Prexy Nesbitt, we took a group of about 12 to 15 people.

There was a shooting war going on in Mozambique at the time involving guerilla army Ranamo (Mozambican National Resistance), a total terrorist organization. We didn’t really know what we were doing but we got everyone through.

There was one time in particular when we left Zimbabwe. Our bus was not able to leave because I didn’t have the right export papers. We got a ride from a nun with a pickup truck who did two shuttles to take us all into Mozambique.

The next day we had to arrange for a dump truck, different vehicles to carry everyone. At one point we were going to a refugee camp. On the way everybody was all excited and there was all this chatter going on. After being there, seeing little babies dying right in front of their eyes I remember very distinctly the ride back was absolutely silent.

You could see everybody was deep inside themselves, either crying or trying to wrap their hearts and brains around what they had experienced.

I think that that is what real education is about. It’s not just frontal lobes it’s about what’s in your chest and how you feel empathy for other people even if they are on the other side of the planet.

—

Decades later we know the transformational power of travel continues. We have grown from those first few annual Reality Tours to over one hundred planned departures in 2012.

While our planning and logistics have been refined (a lot!) over the years, our passion and spirit of truly connecting “people to people” has remained the same. If you’re looking to expand your heart and mind, consider joining us on a Reality Tour.

TAKE ACTION!

Where have you longed to travel? Below are a few of our upcoming Reality Tours trips with spots still open. If you’re interested in a destination not listed below, check out our complete list of 2012/2013 Reality Tours on our website, or consider a Customized Tour!

Upcoming Reality Tours–Spots Open:

• Cuba: Public Education – A Legacy of Literacy and Learning
• July 6, 2012 – July 15, 2012
• Iran: Ancient Civilizations and Contemporary Culture
• September 22, 2012 – October 6, 2012
• North Korea: Beyond the Bamboo Curtain
• September 7, 2012 – September 15, 2012
• India: Rights of Nature with Dr. Vandana Shiva
• November 1, 2012 – November 11, 2012
• Ecuador: New Year’s on the Equator
• December 27, 2012 – January 4, 2013

Here are some easy ways to find the trip that’s right for you! Search for your dream trip…

• By country
• By issue
• By date
• By price

Photo credit: David Deriso

It’s true, you can travel to Cuba this summer with Global Exchange and the Center for Cuban Studies! From August 7 – August 14, 2012 anyone can  join this people-to-people licensed, educational trip to explore the ‘Greening of Cuba’. Sign up here!

Throughout the 20th Century, Cuban agricultural production mainly centered on large industrial farms producing crops (mostly sugar) for export while food has been imported.  Prior to the Cuban Revolution in 1959, the largest market for Cuban sugar was the United States. After the Revolution the Soviet Union became the primary purchaser. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc in the early 1990’s, imports plummeted as did the guaranteed market for Cuban sugar. Cuba began to transform its agricultural infrastructure out of necessity.

Photo credit: Laura Lee

One success of the Cuban Revolution was giving every Cuban the chance to have an education. For the first time children of farmers could aspire to a university education, but this has created unexpected challenges as well. With the movement from industrial, mostly mechanized, farms to organic small farms and cooperatives, there is a shortage of people who want to live and work in the countryside. This delegation will meet with Cuban farmers, experts, and policy makers who will provide an in depth view of the movement towards organic farming in Cuba, its successes, and the challenges it faces.

Program Highlights may include:

• Visit the Antonio Núñez Jiménez Foundation
• Visit with a representative from the Ministry of Agriculture
• Visit to the UNESCO designated biosphere reserve of Las Terrazas
• Visit to the National Botanical Garden
• Visit to an organic farming cooperative in Alamar
• Visit a tobacco plantation in Viñales
• Meeting with National Urban Agriculture Group

Cost:
$2,900.00

Price Includes:

• RT flight:  Miami/Havana/Miami
• Cuban visa and required Cuban health insurance
• Double room accommodations
• Two meals per day
• Conference fee
• Site visits
• Translation
• Transportation (with group)

Global Exchange is thrilled to offer this unique, co-sponsored Reality Tour with the Center for Cuban Studies and hope that you will join us! Please call Carol Steele for more information at 415.255.7296. Sign up here!

Read more about traveling in Cuba and learn more about traveling on a Reality Tour.

The folks behind this delegation: Eco Cuba Exchange and Solar Energy International  invite renewable energy professionals and active lay enthusiasts to participate in this exciting April 2012 delegation and conference. This is your chance to see Cuba’s remarkable achievements for yourself!

Eco Cuba Exchange is a program designed to promote environmental interchange between U.S. and Cuban environmentalists. Solar Energy International is a US non-profit organization whose mission is to help others use renewable energy and environmental building technologies through education.

About CUBA SOLAR: CUBA SOLAR is Cuba’s award-winning NGO promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency in Cuba. The organization was founded in the early 1990′s to solve the “peak oil” crisis that ensued when Cuba lost its preferred trading relationship with the countries of the former Soviet bloc.

How this all began: Global Exchange organized the very first Cuba tour focused on energy issues back in 1996. Laurie Stone of Solar Energy International in Colorado was one of the participants.  Our two organizations have partnered ever since to organize Renewable Energy Cuba tours and Laurie has become the foremost U.S. engineer researching and writing about Cuba’s progress.

2006 was the “Year of the Energy Revolution” in Cuba when the country replaced the majority of Cuba’s ancient refrigerators and other energy-guzzling appliances with new energy efficient ones from China, exchanged all incandescent light bulbs for compact fluorescents, and sent a small army of trained social workers into every community to educate the public on energy efficiency.

In the preceding ten years, the Cuban NGO Cuba Solar had also installed thousands of solar panels on the roofs of family doctor clinics and schools in remote rural areas that were off the electricity grid. They also converted sugar mills and other factories to run on biofuels such as animal manure and bagasse and established rural vocational-technical schools to train workers on how to maintain these refurbished facilities.

About this upcoming delegation: This year’s research delegation is happening April 19 – 29. This is your chance to see for yourselves Cuba’s remarkable achievements to date in this crucial field. Participants will visit installations in Havana, Pinar del Rio and Santiago de Cuba, as well as participate in Cuba Solar’s Tenth International Conference in the Sierra Maestra.

An agripark in Cuba, Dec 2011

Here’s more about what participants (you?) will do on this exciting research delegation:

• Visit renewable energy installations in urban and rural settings
• Learn about Cuba’s energy efficiency program
• Hear from the policy makers and practitioners who make it happen
• Meet renewable energy engineers from all over Cuba and the world
• Enjoy the vibrant cultural scene in Havana and Santiago de Cuba!

Learn more about renewable energy and energy efficiency in Cuba: For articles and videos on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Cuba, including some by Laurie Stone, visit our website.

As Richard Heinberg, Senior Fellow at the Post-Carbon Institute, has said:

“We need an example of what to do when the effects of Peak Oil really hit internationally. Cuba provides us with that. Cuba has already undergone an energy famine.“

CUBA SOLAR Conference and Research Tour: April 23 – 27, 2012 in Santiago de Cuba

• Find out more about CUBA SOLAR Conference and Research Tour here.
• Sign up to go on the CUBA SOLAR Conference and Research Tour here.
• Questions? Contact pam@globalexchange.org or call 510-649-1052.

Children International Summer camp in Wonsan

With the death of the North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-il known as the ‘Dear Leader’ and the world’s attention now turned to his youngest son Kim Jong Eun, the “Great Successor”, very interesting and intense times lie ahead for North Korea.

Kim Jong-il was 69 when he died from an apparent hearth attack while on board a train. A video of North Koreans publicly mourning their ‘Dear Leader’ now appears on YouTube.

If you want to learn more about the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and go beyond what is portrayed in the media, join one of our citizen diplomacy delegation called “North Korea: Beyond the Bamboo Curtain.”

About Global Exchange “Reality Tour” delegation to North Korea:

The North Korea delegation planned in 2012 runs from April 11th- 19th during the days of the centennial birthday of President Kim Il Sung.

Pyongyang Embroidery Institute

The Citizens Diplomacy Reality Tour to North Korea will give participants the distinct opportunity to see inside this tightly guarded nation and gain first-hand perspective the effects of both U.S. and North Korean policies.

Participants will have a chance to put a human face on this ongoing political dispute and help facilitate understanding and respect between people of different nations. Experience a slice of daily life at a school, farming coop, and temple and visit landmarks like the Sinchon War Museum and the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. Find out more here.

Got questions about our North Korea Reality Tour trip? If you would like to speak with someone at Global Exchange about our upcoming delegation to North Korea, please e-mail Reality Tours.

Sustainable Cuba Delegation, June 2011

A new revolution is sweeping the island of Cuba. One that the world needs to take notice of if we are to seriously confront climate change. In the past three years, this small island of 11 million people has successfully embarked on an Energy Revolution unparalleled in the world.

In fact, in its 2006 Living Planet report, the World Wildlife Fund declared Cuba the only country in the world to achieve sustainable development due to their high development level and low ecological footprint. 

Interested in traveling to Cuba for New Year’s?

If you are considering traveling to Cuba, our annual  “Sustainable Cuba New Years Delegation” might be just for you.

City Panoramic of Havana

On this annual New Year’s delegation we examine environmental and human aspects of Sustainable Development via four different areas: Architecture and Urban Planning, Health Care and Alternative Healing, Public Education and Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development. You choose your area of preference.

Here are some basic facts about these Cuba Reality Tours:

• Choose Your Interest: Trip participants will be broken into four groups (depending on what area they work in) and will visit different places at different times but specific to the area they work in.  This means that in each of the subgroups there will be 10-20 delegates.
• The More the Merrier! The delegation for the New Year’s group is typically larger than our normal group size of 10-18, it is upwards of 50-100 people.
  
• Optional Excursions: Each of the groups have optional day excursions outside of Havana planned during the recognized holidays of January 1st and 2nd with many activities for you to enjoy. This is an opportunity for an examination of rural development and provincial realities.
• New Years Paaaaarty! There is also a huge New Year’s party we throw for our Cuban friends (about a hundred of whom participate) and trip participants. Dinner and dancing the night away – it’s SO very fun!
  

How to qualify:

• If you are currently employed full time in one of the areas covered by the trip, then you would qualify under the “general” license of the US Treasury Department’s office of Foreign Assets Control, OFAC.  
• If not, you have the option to travel legally on a special license for an additional administrative charge and will  have to write up a summary of your experience.

What Makes Special License So Special: The special license is not something that can be used on all of our delegations which makes this trip unique. It is also one of the only trips where families, students and retirees can all participate.  With each of these 4 programs  occurring simultaneously there is ample opportunity for you to learn, engage in research, explore Cuba and personally contribute to over 23 years of building “People to People Ties”.

On behalf of Reality Tours and our extended Global Exchange familia in Cuba,  I hope this helps give you a better idea about the delegation and how you might qualify. For more info about our upcoming Cuba New Year’s trips, visit our website.

Photo from Inmagine

The following was written by Carol Steele, Global Exchange Director of Cuba Customized Reality Tours. She is an accomplished percussionist who has played with an eclectic range of musical acts, everything from Los Muñequitos de Matanzas, Joan Baez and Steve Winwood to Diana Ross and Tears for Fears.

—

The 27th Annual International Jazz Festival in Havana is coming up– you wonder, should you go?  And I say to you emphatically, ABSOLUTELY SI !!!!!!

It is a great time to be in Havana!  Usually right on the heels of the International Film Festival, Havana is buzzing with energy.  There are so many concerts in different venues all over town, lots of Cuban Jazz, as well as invited guests from around the world, and BEST of all (says the musician) the late night jam sessions!  You never know who might stop by and sit in on one of these nightly jams.  Once you have your pass for the festival, you can get into all of the shows, afternoon lecture demonstrations, and although I think there may be a small fee to go to the jam sessions – it’s a fee that’s well worth it as far as I’m concerned.

I started going to Cuba in 1987, during a time when I was working as a professional recording musician/percussionist, and wanted to go to the root – or “la mata” as my Cuban friends in New York used to say. (The root of my technique as a percussionist)  I was recording and working with Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Bette Midler and Tears for Fears, to name a few, and going to Cuba during my time off.  I went to study, see, learn, absorb, breathe, play, dance, and see what it feels like to be in   “la mata” and what I can tell you is that it changed my life!

Carol Steele in action!

I am not a formally trained musician, I play by “ear” (and I would add, heart and soul.)  So for me, whether I get to play or not, just going to Cuba, and getting to be in the presence of the masters that are constantly taking modern Cuban music to new levels, or having the privilege of experiencing Afro-Cuban Folkloric music that is being played in the same way that it was handed down from Mother Africa – it inspires.  Whether I have ever put my hands on a drum or not, during any given visit over the past 25 years, I always come home playing something different, taking a different solo, and feeling my place in the music in just a very subtle and different way – inspired.

So, I have to say that the Jazz Festival is an incredibly unique time to be in Havana, with so much music happening in so many different places daily. Whether you are a musician or dancer, expert or novice, music aficionado or music critic………. You will come back changed in some way that you might not be able to put your finger on at first -  is it the music, the culture, the people, the food, the painting, the architecture, the history……………or is it just ALL of it!  Come with us and see – and by the way, let me know!

TRAVEL TO CUBA

The 27th International Jazz Festival of Havana is taking place on December 11, 2011 – December 21, 2011. Find out how to travel there with Global Exchange.

You can see Carol in action & on percussion in this video!

Photo Credit: Tammy Gustafson

Accurate statistics are difficult to compile, but it is believed that between 600,00 and 800,000 human beings are trafficked across international borders each year, 80% of them women and children. It is estimated that approximately $9 billion dollars in profits are generated annually through slavery and trafficking, placing the trade in human trafficking in the top three most profitable criminal enterprises along with the drugs and arms trades.

The numbers are staggering, and actually confronting them and the shattered lives they represent can be an overwhelming prospect. Yet we are not powerless in the face of this monstrous industry, and the first step towards bringing it to a halt is education. That’s why the Not for Sale Campaign and Global Exchange Reality Tours together facilitate delegations to Thailand, Cambodia and other countries.

What are these trips all about?

A Not For Sale & Global Exchange trip (called “Delegation on Human Trafficking”) enables participants to understand the causes of human trafficking, meet with those who have been freed out of slavery, learn what it means to build a life as a survivor, and engage with those who are fighting human trafficking on the front lines. These educational trips are geared specifically to confronting the realities of the global trade in human beings.

Not for Sale is giving away a free trip!

Thanks to Not for Sale, those who register for the upcoming Global Forum on Human Trafficking will be entered for a chance to win a FREE trip to a Not For Sale International Project of their choice. You get the airfare, they get everything else (value up to $2300)

Register for what? For a chance to win whaaaaaat?!

• Register for the Global Forum on Human Trafficking (hashtag #globalforum) happening Oct. 21-22 in Sunnyvale, CA, which is a gathering of people from all walks of life- from business leaders, people of faith, students, athletes, law enforcement and others brought together under one roof  to learn and explore different models being deployed to mobilize individuals to combat trafficking;
• For a chance to win an (almost) all-expense-paid Immersion Trip/Reality Tour Trip to a Not For Sale International Project of your choice. *Almost means Not For Sale will pay for all program costs including all in-country costs. Winner will be responsible for round trip airfare to and from trip location.

Global Exchange’s Chie Abad will be speaking at the Global Forum on Human Trafficking.

For more about this upcoming event, here’s David Batstone, President and Co-founder of Not For Sale:

Global Forum 2011 – David Batstone Promo from Not For Sale Campaign on Vimeo.

Ready to Register for the Global Forum on Human Trafficking?

If you’re planning to register for the Global Forum on Human Trafficking, do it soon for your chance to win your FREE trip.  Not For Sale will randomly select the one lucky person who registers during the month of August to win the trip. The *Big Winner* will be determined the first week of September 2011.

It just keeps getting better!
When you register for the Global Forum on Human Trafficking, use the discount code “GXNFS” to receive 10% off your registration.

Good luck to all of you planning to register for the Global Forum on Human Trafficking. There’s a trip of a lifetime in it for one of you lucky attendees!

Our External Relations Director Malia Everette was recently interviewed by the Associated Press about the increasing demand for “People to People” Cuba tours that Global Exchange is experiencing for the article US issuing licenses for increased Cuba travel.

A recent New York Times article described one Global Exchange Reality Tour to Cuba:

A hot June sun glared over the Arroyo Arenas organic vegetable garden at the edge of Havana where Ms. Slezak, a 68-year-old retired social worker from Long Island, and 16 other Americans were visiting as part of a “food sovereignty” program organized by Global Exchange, a human rights organization, and Food First, a policy institute.

She and the beans were partly shaded by netting slung over the long trough-shaped beds, but it was hot, damp and sticky. She paused now and then to wipe her forehead.

Sweating in a Cuban field is not everyone’s idea of relaxation, and it is a far cry from the decadent gaiety that drew Americans to Havana before Fidel Castro came to power in 1959. But trips like this are one way of getting to see Cuba, and have just become accessible to most Americans.

Yet another New York Times article described the travel policy changes taking place:

Thanks to policy changes by President Obama earlier this year designed to encourage more contact between Americans and citizens of the Communist-ruled island, the Treasury Department is once again granting so-called “people-to-people” licenses, which greatly expand travel opportunities for Cuba-bound visitors. The new people-to-people measures make it easier for United States citizens who do not have special status as working journalists or scholars to visit Cuba legally, so long as they go with a licensed operator.

What continues to motivate Global Exchange Reality Tour trips to Cuba is how our participants return inspired by their Cuban counterparts and educated first-hand about the tenacity, ingenuity and integrity of the Cuban people. Yes, Global Exchange is also committed to challenging our government to normalize relations with Cuba, but also to build long term relationships between US and Cuban citizens based on respect and real engagement.

In fact this year, Global Exchange is organizing over 20 delegations and have customized another 30 trips to Cuba thus far!

If you’d like to read some insights shared by a recent Cuba Reality Tour participant check out this article written by Linda Slezak which originally appeared in the Slow Food East End newsletter.

Tonight on the Travel Channel: Anthony Bourdain in Cuba!

The premiere episode of the latest season of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations finds the show in Cuba. Here’s a sneak peek at tonight’s show, this part all about baseball:

Organizations & Institutions: Consider Partnering with Global Exchange
Perhaps you may get inspired tonight after watching the travel channel. As a licensed travel service provider, Global Exchange welcomes working with other organizations and institutions that have their own licenses and would love to develop new partnerships to customize journeys. Email malia@globalexchange.org to get started.

Now is THE time to Travel to Cuba!
With new flights recently cleared for lift off, now is the perfect time to plan your trip. We’d love for you to join us on one of our Reality Tours to Cuba.

The best time to go to Cuba? People who have gone on a Global Exchange New Years trip to Cuba come back…different. In a good way. Like they just went on a trip of a lifetime. To learn more about our New Years trips to Cuba this year, go here.

Save $150 on Cuba Trip: Global Exchange Reality Tours is offering a $150 DISCOUNT when you register for one of our Cuba trips by August 15th, 2011. Simply mention this blog post to receive your discount.

So what are you waiting for? Cuba awaits you.

I am a graduate student, and, as a requirement for my school, I had to do a cultural immersion. The immersion required me to spend 75 hours outside of my own culture. I decided to use this requirement as something helpful for my personal growth and something that would help me learn more about the issue of human trafficking. The last time I had been out of the country was 10 years ago. My passport had just expired, but I decided to renew it and go on an adventure.

In my search for the perfect opportunity, I found the link for immersion trips through the Not for Sale Campaign’s website. Each of the offerings sounded like an excellent opportunity to learn more about a different culture. The Peru immersion experience seemed to offer an in-depth look into the Peruvian culture, as well as some tourism such as: the economic, governmental, and social realities. The main focus of the trip was on the human trafficking issue, which is an issue I have been passionate about for some time. Our group met Lucy Borja, the founder of Generacion, who was such an inspiration in how she loves the “unwanted.” We also met some of the kids from the streets who were so welcoming. It was overwhelming to walk into a small house and see a large group of smiling kids, singing and dancing. They greeted us one by one with a hug or kiss. We learned some of the troubles street kids face daily. They are treated poorly by the government and the Peruvian citizens because of their status. The Peruvian government outwardly and openly demonstrates their distaste for the street kids viewing them as a nuisance. We met one girl who stood outside our van and asked us to take her to the states with us. Much of the trip was emotionally overwhelming because of the hardships the kids face.

My adventure started as soon as I sent in my application to Global Exchange. To prepare for such an extensive trip was something I’ve never done before. I haven’t gone out of the country in so long that I needed a lot of help getting ready. I heard from many different people their thoughts on booking flights and what I should pack. I think packing may have been the most difficult part of the pre-traveling process. I tried to pack light, but I had so many “just in case” items that I felt I was packing way too much. Meanwhile, my friends thought I wasn’t packing enough. I read reviews online about traveling specifically to Peru. I got some vaccinations and finally, after months of planning, I was on my way to Lima, Peru.

Before setting foot in Peru, I realized an immediate difference in culture beyond my own preconceptions. On the plane I met a man from Peru who was trying to teach me Spanish during our 6 hour flight. When we got off the plane, there was a woman who yelled something in Spanish. The man looked at me and asked if I knew what the woman said. When I said no, he just smiled and walked off. I still have no idea what that woman said.

Throughout the next ten days I became immersed in a culture that I knew little about. I not only learned about the many cultures and subcultures of Peru, but more about other parts of the US. My traveling companions were four people from different parts of the US.

I think the biggest culture difference was the diversity from one town to the next. One day I ate potatoes and cheese in a small kitchen in an adobe hut, and the next day I was sitting in one of the best restaurants in Lima eating, well, different potatoes I guess. One constant was that Peru has many kinds of potatoes, and, rich or poor, everyone eats potatoes. That didn’t concern me at all. I am predominately Irish, so potatoes are a staple in my diet.

Most of the trip I was in overwhelmed emotionally. Sights and sounds were different than I had ever experienced and it was sometimes hard to focus during group discussions and meetings. The language barrier got to me eventually. I was so frustrated that I couldn’t seem to ask a question without making hand gestures and limiting everything I could in the 10 or so Spanish words I knew. As soon as I stepped off the plane in the US I smiled because I was immediately greeted with a “hello,” instead of “hola.” It was comforting to be able to speak in my native language. I had never realized how much power there is in language. In the midst of this trip, I realized how incredibly hard it must be to immigrate to a new country. I had a group around me that did know my language, so that I could ask questions if need be. I don’t know what I would do if I was completely alone. Some things that seem simple, such as getting a cab, ordering food, or buying merchandise are completely different in another country. In Peru when I wanted to go to town in a cab, I was told that I should pay no more than 3 soles, if I wasn’t told that I’m sure that I could have paid more than 10 sole without knowing any better.

I have tried to gather cultural differences and things I learned into something concise, but haven’t been able to. I have actually been learning more since I’ve come home. I did find out that because I was in Peru for 10 days- 10 days longer than many of the people I know- I have become the “expert” on the country to people I talk to.  I am far from being an expert. I have had one trip and I feel that there is so much more to learn. From what I did learn, I am questioning if I am even an expert on American culture. It is so easy to generalize people for what you think they should be from what you heard, but until you experience the culture or subculture for yourself, you are not truly informed.

Because of this experience, I have been able to educate others about the realities of Peru. I gave a presentation to my class about everything I learned culturally. I also presented to the Western Washington Coalition Against Human Trafficking. I have shared my experience with everyone I know because people are fascinated with other countries and cultures that they don’t know. It is an easy way for me to lead people to discuss the trafficking issue in the US. Most people are shocked to find out that trafficking does happen in the US. The same thing that is happening in other countries is happening in our own country. I understand the issue more because of my first hand experience in Peru. I also was shown a way that the victims are being helped. Lucy is being proactive by spending time with the girls while they are prostitutes, so that they can find a way out before they are fully immersed into modern day slavery, or while they still have the freedom to walk away from it. I have come back to the US with new understanding of what is happening in our country. Since it’s not widely understood in our country that trafficking happens within the US, it is hard to find a solution to an already too big problem. Most of the time that could be spent on finding a way to help is spent on educating others that it really does happen.  

I met some amazing people on my trip: heroines in the fight against Human Trafficking, people who are helping others by their willingness to be available to help, and our US team who is now more aware of Peru’s reality. Everyone who has acknowledged this issue as one that is actually happening, a human rights issue, and is doing something to help fight it is a hero. It doesn’t take much to become an advocate; by just speaking up against trafficking is helpful to the fight. People cannot be expected to change when they don’t know there is a problem.

I have always been a compassionate person, if anything, this trip has helped me become even more compassionate. I am pursuing my masters in counseling psychology, so naturally, I like helping people. I am curious how people handle joys and trials in life. I am so glad that I went on this trip to expand my knowledge and cross cultures. There is nothing more eye opening than to experience the “unknown;” in other words, to get out of your comfort zone. Even traveling within our own country is an eye opening experience. I encourage everyone to leave their comfort zones and travel; it is always an adventure whether you love the country you visit, or decide it’s not for you.

Amy Murray is a graduate student at Northwest University pursuing a MA in Counseling Psychology. She is actively involved in the fight against human trafficking and serves in several different places such as, the Not for Sale Campaign and the Western Washington Coalition Against Human Trafficking. In her spare time, Amy likes to work on art projects, run, and play tennis.