About Lemke Abroad 2015
In its second year, Lemke Abroad is becoming a tradition for some: Two University of Arkansas professors taking a group of journalism students to another continent to immerse them into another culture. In the process, they learn lifelong lessons about journalism, culture and the world outside Arkansas.
For our second year, we returned to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, a beautiful city on the edge of the Amazonian jungle and the Andes mountains. A fast-growing city of about 1.5 million residents, Santa Cruz is a diverse mix of inner-city poverty and up-and-coming business leaders looking to the future.
Nine UA students made the two-week (and then some for a few) trip this year. Ricky Thein and Ray Minor led the group and prepared them for the new experiences. Students spent two weeks in Fayetteville learning the gear they would be using along with beginning research on the stories they wanted to complete while there.
The class then spent two weeks in Santa Cruz. We teamed up with students from the Universidad Autonoma Gabriel Rene Moreno (UAGRM) who were our local interpreters. These students, who are all learning English as part of their career plans. Helped us navigate the city, find sources, arranged interviews and made sure we didn’t get lost. They also became our friends. For more about the interpreters and who they are, click here.
For several students, the two-week stay turned into a two-week-and-a-few-days trip, as they got to experience the Bolivian medical system first-hand. Three students ended up getting sick as the trip ended and wound up in the hospital for some basic ailments. After three days in care, all were released and joined the rest of the team that had returned as scheduled four days earlier. You can read about their health adventures here.
After all the work reporting, the teams returned to Fayetteville for three weeks of writing, editing and production. This was where the journalism training got put to the test. If you’re on the site, then you have seen the results of their efforts. We’re proud of what they learned and created. We hope you like it too.
Lemke Bolivia wouldn’t be possible without the amazing help and support of so many people.
Our deepest thanks
Thank you to the Walter J. Lemke Department of Journalism for approving such a grand adventure for us and the students. We look forward to more trips.
To the UA Study Abroad office, most notably Dede Long and Sarah Malloy, along with travel agent Daun Flynn, who made the adventure smoother and less painful than anyone could’ve expected. Your patience and expertise allowed the students to have an amazing time.
Thank you to Cecilia Grossberger and Alejandro Zeballos for working as test interpreters for the students before we left.
Once we arrived in Bolivia, we were assisted by our sponsor Norman Ventura, a communications professor at UAGRM. His experience and connections granted us access around the city, even if he didn’t know it.
Some major kudos goes to Alfonso Roca, the local “fixer” who helped arrange things like transportation, hotels, meetings and meals for the group before we arrived. And his help after the illnesses started was invaluable. Working with the doctors and nurses, he was able to explain the Bolivian medical system and make sure our students were well taken care of. At one point, as the third student was arriving at the hospital, he leaned over and said “Don’t worry, I’ll be here to help. You are like my family.” Alfonso, I feel the same way. And thank you for everything.
Also, a big thanks to Yessica Vidal. She was our fixer for the 2014 trip and was pressed into duty quickly to help interpret at the hospital. We couldn’t have made it without you.
We must thank Martha Caballero, the chairman of the World Languages Department at UAGRM. She was the one identified the interpreters for the program this year. Thank you for finding students passionate about their education and curious about the American students who were about to consume all their free time.
And you wouldn’t be reading these words now on this website without the help of Ben Pollock. His expertise helped make this website a lot easier to put together.
The Lemke Abroad 2015 instructors
My second year taking students abroad taught me more than I could imagine. After spending two weeks in Bolivia in 2014, I wasn’t sure what I would learn this time. I learned not to ask that question again. These nine students were fun to watch in action, such enthusiasm and curiosity. Seeing them figure out how to navigate a foreign city and investigate stories and culture was always a learning experience. And then there was the hospital (a story for another place). I can’t wait to do it again next year.
A few of my pictures are here.
To me, traveling is about the experience. It’s about understanding the people, history and culture in other parts of the world. It doesn’t matter if I like it or hate it, I just want to enjoy the journey and learn from it.
I did all of that during our two weeks in Bolivia. Here’s what stood out to me:
None of this would have been possible without our “fixer” Alfonso Roca. His job was to help us secure the hotels and transportation, negotiate prices, and step in and “fix” whatever didn’t go as planned. A 25-year-old college student, Alfonso is intelligent, easy to get along with, and a joy to be around. He has big plans for his future and I have no doubt he’ll accomplish them. He’s one of the smartest and nicest people you’ll ever meet.
Our interpreters came through big-time. They’re five college students and they worked their butts off for two weeks and never complained. They showed up every day, sometimes at 8 a.m., ready to work. And these were 10, 11, 12-hour days, getting in and out of taxis, cruising around Santa Cruz gathering information for our stories. I know they were tired because we were tired, but they never showed it. I’ll never forget Biary, Geziel, Helen, Ninoska and Yasmin.
My colleague, Ray Minor, and I had the pleasure of speaking to a communications class at the largest public university in Santa Cruz. Ray discussed how social media works in the U.S. while I talked about how we do sports production at the University of Arkansas. We each spoke to roughly 120 students and they couldn’t have been more professional. Even though every word of both hour-long lectures had to be translated from English to Spanish by Alfonso, the students were attentive, respectful and asked great questions. Afterwards several of them stayed to talk to us, friend us on Facebook and take pictures. It was a great example of how passion, curiosity and the love of learning can make up for a lot of things, including a language barrier.
One of our interpreters, Ninoska Suarez Antelo, invited us to her parents’ house in Santa Cruz for breakfast one day. This was the only home we visited during our two weeks there. I attended, along with three of my students, Sarah Bingham, Meleah Perez and Cassie Schirm. Her parents, Freddy and Mireya, served Saltenas, a traditional South American breakfast. It’s a pastry filled with chicken and spicy sauce. Although we struggled to eat them correctly (we let the sauce drip out, which you’re not supposed to do) they were delicious. Over breakfast we talked about our study abroad program, looked at family pictures and briefly discussed American politics. Even though every word had to be translated by Ninoska, it was a wonderful experience to share a traditional breakfast with a Bolivian family at their home.
When you get into a car in Santa Cruz, be prepared for a lot of noise. Not only are the cars themselves noisy, but drivers honk incessantly. They honk when they’re annoyed, they honk to say hi and they honk just to let you know they’re coming. They honk non-stop. It takes a little getting used to.
Finally, I want to thank my colleague Ray Minor for all his hard work organizing this trip. The logistics of booking hotel rooms, figuring out how to pay for those rooms in a foreign country, and setting up transportation to and from every excursion is not an easy thing to do. Ray, along with Alfonso’s help, did it all and it went flawlessly. He was on top of everything and, anytime there was a minor glitch, he knew how to handle it. It was a pleasure traveling with Ray and getting to know him. Hopefully we’ll be able to do this again soon.
Our seven weeks together are officially over. Not only did I have a great time experiencing the Bolivian way of life, but I also learned quite a bit about teaching. Overall – I think this trip was a success. The 11 of us (nine students, two teachers) became better journalists, explored a foreign country together and had some great times. We’ll share this bond forever.
Lemke Abroad 2015 