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Migration and Community Learning [Student Reflection]

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This is a guest blog post from our student social media ambassador, Diana. Currently studying abroad on the semester program, “Liberal Arts, Migration and Social Change” in Mexico. 

Hello everyone, this is Diana coming from Augsburg CGEE Liberal Arts, Migration and Social Change Program in Cuernavaca, Mexico. We have been here for two months now and we have made so many memories. Participating in educational excursions and getting to know the community we are living among. So far we have been to the pyramids in Teotihuacan, Tepoztlan, Bosque de los hongos azules, Cortes Museum, spiritual site in Amatlan, radio station IMRyT, Casa Tochan in CDMX and Bosque de Chapultepec. Part of the program is to hear guest speakers stories on their work and life experiences in their profession/ dedication. Excursions and guest speakers are both part of the learning experience because not only are we visiting and hearing educational stories, we are connecting everything back to our classes.

In the beginning of October we finished our five week Spanish course in which we had the opportunity to practice our Spanish skills daily, giving us the chance to improve and advance our native language or our second language. This allowed us to immerse ourselves and put ourselves out there by talking to street vendors, Mexican University students, professors etc. Since the beginning of the program we have been having weekly engagement activities with International House Cuernavaca (iHouse) students who live in Cuernavaca and others who are coming from different parts of Mexico. We have a ratio of four Augsburg students to nine iHouse students. During these weekly activities we have the chance to help each other build our confidence, us Augsburg students are helping iHouse with their English and iHouse students help us with our Spanish skills. Having this intercultural experience gave us new life long friendships.

In the month of September we had a four day rural seminar and homestay in the Nahua indigenous village in Amatlan de Quetzalcoatl so we could learn about the practices of the community. Being there we stayed with a host family who accepted us in their home. Every one of us practiced our Spanish, attended guest speakers and explored everything Amatlan had to offer. After this, we started our four week urban homestay with families living by Casa Augsburg. I am currently with a host family of two loving parents with their sweet ten year old daughter and their dog. My host family has been very supportive and caring towards me. We are about to reach the end of this homestay but there is still half of the semester left and I can’t wait to report back to everyone who is interested in studying abroad in Mexico. Me and my friends have been having such a great time and we are honored to be able to study and have fun in Mexico. Thank you to our professors, IRA, staff members, guides, guest speakers and our friends for making our study abroad an unforgettable experience!

  • The Augsburg CGEE Mexico ambassador has been active on both TikTok and Instagram! Follow along @augsburgcgee on both platforms.

a group of students in front of a colorful mural of Casa Tochan in Mexico City a selfie style photo with five college students in front of a colorful mural scene

Good or Bad? Reflection on Nuance in Namibia [Student Reflection]

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This is a guest blog post from our student social media ambassador, Kurt. Currently studying abroad on the semester program, “Decolonizing the Mind: Racial and Environmental Justice” that travels to both Namibia and South Africa during the semester.

With just a little over 4 weeks left in the semester, reflecting on my time in Namibia feels bittersweet. Sweet because of all of the life-changing, exciting, fantastic experiences I’ve had, but bitter because I know it is coming to an end. It’s difficult to put into words all that we have learned. We spent the first 2 weeks of the semester in Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. What we learned there about the depth and breadth of apartheid has informed the rest of our time in Southern Africa.

a group of college students posing together in Namibia

 

Our time in South Africa also introduced a central theme that has come up time and again in Namibia: the paradox of tragedy and extreme ugliness and resilience and beauty. We have visited stunning places like Cape Town, South Africa, and Luderitz, Namibia, and learned how apartheid-era officials and German soldiers carried out horrific acts of violence against Black and native people. Namibians have made extraordinary progress toward building a just society (in just 36 years of independence), which we’ve learned about in our history class and in a visit to Parliament. But we’ve also seen first-hand the extreme inequality that persists here, in visits to Windhoek’s townships, personal encounters with extreme poverty, and discussions with community leaders. It’s difficult to understand how all of this can exist at once, in one small country.

Confronting this paradox requires a decolonization of our thinking. Colonialism relies on people believing a single, powerful narrative: that a certain country is backward, a group of people naïve, a specific way of living wrong. But we have learned that the world is far more complicated. Namibia is not one-sided. It contains beautiful landscapes and horrible histories, intolerable inequality and inspirational community leaders. One of my favorite talks was given by a transgender sex worker, Rachel, in the coastal town of Walvis Bay. In the same talk, she spoke about the terrifying reality of being transgender in Namibia and her love of her country and pride in its constitution. To hold both realities true at the same time is a lesson in thinking beyond colonial binaries of good and bad, developed and undeveloped, modern and backward. It is a lesson in recognizing and appreciating justice while still working tirelessly to address injustice. I am forever grateful for the opportunity to connect with the speakers and professors we have met during our time here and can’t wait to see what our last month here will bring!

Discovering Community and Resilience in Guatemala [Student Reflection]

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This is a guest blog post from our student social media ambassador, Raven. Currently studying abroad on the semester program, “New Activisms, Human Rights and Social Justice” that travels to both Guatemala and Costa Rica during the semester.
Reflecting on my two months in Guatemala, as a part of CGEE’s New Activisms, Human Rights and Social Justice program, I feel so grateful to have had the opportunity, not just to visit Guatemala, but to see it through the eyes of the locals. We visited many different areas of western Guatemala, from the city of Xela to the lake town of San Antonio Palopo, from the coffee Finka of Santa Anita to the historical city of Antigua, and within each location we had the opportunity to hear from local Guatemalans about their stories, histories and culture. This is why a study abroad experience is so impactful, you are not just visiting these places as a tourist, but being given the opportunity to connect with the land and its people, as well as reflect on your own identity and homeland.

Continue reading “Discovering Community and Resilience in Guatemala [Student Reflection]” →

Now Seeking: Visiting Faculty for BSW Program in Mexico

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Augsburg University’s Center for Global Education and Experience (Augsburg CGEE) and the BSW Mexico Consortium seeks qualified candidates to serve as visiting faculty for its spring semester study abroad program based in Cuernavaca, Mexico. (Learn more about the program: “Social Work in a Latin American Context.”)

The visiting faculty member is responsible directly to the BSW Mexico Consortium during their term, acting through its administrative agent, the Center for Global Education and Experience (CGEE) at Augsburg University. The visiting faculty member is selected for a one-year term (the spring semester spent in Mexico). The visiting faculty member is selected by a search committee made up of members of the BSW Mexico Program Managing Committee.

The visiting faculty position is full-time during the spring semester of the year of the appointment, permitting only limited time for research and other personal projects. We are looking now for spring 2028, as well as 2029 and a back-up for 2027/2028 (applicants will indicate their semester(s) of interest on the application form). 

For questions about this position or the program, please contact the Center for Global Education and Experience at globaled@augsburg.edu.

A Day in the Life of Study Abroad for Auggies

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Augsburg’s Center for Global Education and Experience (CGEE) and Multicultural Life (MLife) are proud to co-host an upcoming panel event for Augsburg students, “A Day in the Life of Study Abroad.”

Featuring several Auggies alongside visiting international staff, this panel event will showcase what a day in the life of study abroad looks like from a students’ point of view.

Date: Wednesday, September 30

Time: 5 – 6:30 p.m.

Location: OGC 100

We encourage everyone to attend to learn more and to hear from our amazing global visitors. Light refreshments will be served.

Featuring (link to read their bio’s):

(Feel free to drop in/out if you are unable to make the entire 1.5 hour time listed – all are welcome at any time)

Interested in where in the world you can go? Check out our study abroad and away options for Auggies any time at our global portal. 

Final Student Reflections: Mexico Spring 2026

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This is a guest blog post from our student social media ambassador, Anthony. Currently studying abroad on the semester program, “Liberal Arts, Migration and Social Change in Mexico.”

I’m writing this four days before we have to go back to the states, but I don’t think it’s fully hit me yet how much I’m leaving behind. We’ve gotten to sit down and eat with the residents at Programa Casa de Refugiado, listening to those brave enough to share their migration stories. We’ve visited so many incredible community organizers, (including an entire activist family in the ravine where they lived and worked) to learn how they fought imperialism, capitalism, and environmental gentrification. We’ve gone to UNAM’s botanical gardens, beautiful landscapes, and traditional Milpa farms that compelled me to consider how food ends up on my plate in the states. No matter what we were studying, you could feel the level of care put in by every lecturer. The effort put into every excursion and exercise. Continue reading “Final Student Reflections: Mexico Spring 2026” →

Community, Borders, and Peace [Student Reflection]

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This is a guest blog post from our student social media ambassador, Sydney. Currently studying abroad on the semester program, “Conflict, Peace, and Transition in Northern Ireland.”

The past couple of months have been filled with so many informative, eye-opening, and amazing experiences. We explored the city of Derry and learned about its history, from its historic walls to the key events of the Troubles that occurred here. We traveled to Belfast and went to the Titanic Museum, talked with people from both sides of the conflict, and examined the peace walls. Continue reading “Community, Borders, and Peace [Student Reflection]” →

Learning from Indigenous Communities in Guatemala [Student Reflection]

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This is a guest blog post from our student social media ambassador, Alannah. Currently studying abroad on the semester program, “New Activisms, Human Rights and Social Justice” that travels to both Guatemala and Costa Rica during the semester.

The first half of Augsburg’s CGEE New Activism, Human Rights, and Social Justice semester program took place throughout many different places in Guatemala. Our program has been filled with lots of fun and educational excursions. These activities have helped us become more knowledgeable about the Indigenous communities in the country and the struggles that they have prevailed through and continue to face. The program is specifically built in a way where we don’t just learn about the history of Guatemala through books, but through discussions with local community members, activists, artists, and families. Our Spanish classes that took place in the beginning of our program helped contribute to this and allowed us to develop our communication skills with our speakers so we wouldn’t have to purely rely on a translator. Continue reading “Learning from Indigenous Communities in Guatemala [Student Reflection]” →

Collective Care in Norway and New Perspectives [Student Reflection]

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This is a guest blog post from our student social media ambassador, Emily. Currently studying abroad on the semester program, “Social Systems, Sustainability, and Justice in Norway.”

The first half of the semester in Norway has been an incredible and thought-provoking experience in so many ways. Continue reading “Collective Care in Norway and New Perspectives [Student Reflection]” →

Augsburg CGEE in Mexico: The Lived Experience [Student Reflection]

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This is a guest blog post from our student social media ambassador, Anthony. Currently studying abroad on the semester program, “Liberal Arts, Migration and Social Change in Mexico.”

Our semester in Cuernavaca is about halfway done and I feel so grateful to be here. Whether it was witnessing the traditional Brincon at the annual Carnaval in Topostlan, hearing from traditional healers and community leaders of Amatlan, or sharing a meal with residents at the Casa Tochan migrant shelter in Mexico City, everywhere we’ve gone shown us another example of dedication, community, and joy as a form of shared resistance. Continue reading “Augsburg CGEE in Mexico: The Lived Experience [Student Reflection]” →