Help Daphne study in South America

My name is Daphne Bargeman, and I am fundraising for my participation in an open campus program through Council On International Educational Exchange (CIEE), where I will spend approximately five months earning up to eighteen credits to obtain my degree in Mass Communications and Journalism through Arizona State University (ASU). Thank you in advance for your donation to my campaign, which will help pay for airfare, lodging, and meals, allowing me to focus fully on the new cultural experiences that will enhance my knowledge of the world.

There are many reasons for global travel, but the opportunity to learn in a new culture, where the people live in ways different yet similar, surfaces an entirely new level of wisdom. Thanks to my supportive network, I traveled to Europe this past summer and left with a newfound appreciation for everything and everyone around me. I ventured to Amsterdam for a weekend, and what I brought home with me (aside from an insatiable appetite for Dutch pancakes) was the motivation to live a more environmentally conscious life. The Netherlands have reduced their carbon footprint by approximately 18% since 1990, something which I could not help but marvel at during my stay in a city where the main mode of transportation is cycling. It felt as though with cleaner air came contentment, and what else can we look for in our lifetime? The Dutch taught me what it is to prioritize wellbeing, and that includes respect for planet Earth. I can only imagine what new lessons I will uncover in a different corner of the world.

For my upcoming CIEE study abroad experience, I chose three cities in South America: Monteverde, Costa Rica; Yucatan, Mexico; and Buenos Aires, Argentina. Why these South American countries? Since Kindergarten, I excelled in all of my Spanish classes, taking senior level courses in eighth grade and continuing my bilingual journey up until the end of my high school career. I have always wanted to study a foreign language, but having chosen to participate in the Starbucks College Achievement Program (SCAP), I am unable to take up a minor in Spanish online. My only outlets include practicing with friends, at work, and absorbing as much as possible from free trials on DuoLingo. Even though I have made an effort to retain as much of the language as possible, taking orders in Spanish does not compare to a consistent curriculum. What does compare: to be completely immersed in both the language and culture. Not only would my time in South America bring me closer to my dream of fluency, but it would open the door for others. I mean this in a way that expands past just another skill to record on my resume–I hope to make new memories and create with new friends.

It is easiest to express myself through writing, though for others it varies. While some might find purpose in a sport, others dance to the same beat of their ancestors. My mother and I stayed in Tamarindo last Christmas, a rather touristy area in comparison to the town of Nicoya in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. It was there that our guide invited us to sit beneath guava trees in her backyard and commune with her family. We danced the traditional Punto Guanacaste with her first and second cousins, aunts and uncles–the elders sat in the shade as small dogs ran between their feet. It was drastically more appreciable than other excursions we had been on, so much so I remember looking at my friend and seeing tears in her eyes. How generous they had been to invite us into their home, allowing us a taste of their values and creativity. To the people of Costa Rica, their history remains just as important as the present, a lesson anyone could bring home.

I had danced Punto Guanacaste in my younger years, more specifically in elementary school. Joyner Elementary is an International Baccalaureate school that emphasizes Spanish learning in order to create a world full of more interculturally aware people. We would often perform traditional dances for our peers and families, taught to us by teachers with backgrounds from all over–Colombia, Mexico, or Guatemala. Having been taught to contextualize at such a young age has led me to do so in more recent years, with all the more depth. It is hard to put into words just how big and small traveling will make you feel–to know that your way of life is just as important and yet so insignificant to the family dancing circles on the Rich Coast.

My time away will warrant new experiences I am naive to, yet entirely prepared for. I hope to become a more modest version of myself–where I take home all the love and principles unheard of and share them with my colleagues, my friends and family, and with people I do not yet know.

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