Service Learning in Colombia: Perspectives on Culture, Global Health, and Spanish

May Term 2014
NURS*300 / SPAN*300 / PUBH*300

Are you a pre-med, nursing, or public health student interested in global and international healthcare? Do you want to be able to communicate with Spanish-speaking clients or deepen your current Spanish language skills? Do you enjoy exploring the natural environment? Have you ever wondered how you sleep in a hammock? If so, then the Colombia May Term Trip is for you!

This eighteen-day trip is a cultural immersion and service-learning experience. We will participate in activities near Bogotá, meet healthcare officials, and explore Colombia’s colonial past in VILLA de LEYVA. We will collaborate with a local school of nursing in Bucaramanga, sharing their educational experiences and homes. We will work alongside providers of modern medicine and public health, as well as explore traditional medical and folk practices in an effort to understand a variety of beliefs about health, healing, and healthy and sustainable human relationships with the environment.

We will visit The ZONA CAFETERA (Coffee-growing region) and learn about growing, cooking and preserving various tropical fruits. Near Santa Marta, we will explore Tayrona National Park on foot, one of the most biodiverse and archaeologically significant areas in the world, where indigenous communities continue to live. The trip will end by enjoying the beaches in the Caribbean city of Cartagena de Indias.

Prerequisites for students taking the trip for credit: completion of at least one semester of either Spanish language, Nursing, or Public Health. For more information, refer to the 2014 May Term Study Experiences website.

Register today; the trip is filling up fast!

Trip Details

• Depart Wednesday, May 7
• Return Monday, May 26
• Total Cost $3,454
• 4.0 credits
• Open to undergraduates who have completed either one semester of the nursing or public health program, or one Spanish language course. Graduate students, alumni and other guests may also apply but current Westminster undergraduates will receive priority.

Faculty

• Carol Jeffers, School of Nursing and Health Sciences (Nursing)
• Deyanira Ariza-Velasco, School of Arts and Sciences (Language)

Additional Information

Please review the May Term Study Experience Guide 2013-2014.

For more information, please email John Contreras, Carol Jeffers, or Deyanira Ariza-Velasco.