IDEALS

By Eric Bauer Professor, Loyalist

Mexico is a nation of tremendous contrasts. On the one hand there exists a landscape of incredible natural beauty, a nation with immense physical and biological resource endowment, and a vibrant kaleidoscopic culture. On the other hand there exists a land despoiled by an array of liquid hazardous and solid wastes, a national economy plagued by new age colonial imperialism and extensive walls to hide magnificent mansions while miserable tenements house much of Mexico's people.

My emotional and intellectual experience with QUEST mirrored these contrasts. As an environmental educator, I teach meth¬ods for solid and hazardous waste management, the microbiology of water and waste¬water (Mexico's aqua negra), and resource management rooted in ecological literacy. Surely, my education and experience would allow me to envision solutions to Mexicoæs impending environmental crises. However, my western beliefs, knowledge, and views were challenged daily and I found myself increasingly asking questions to which "instant-coffee" style answers seemed, simultaneously, inadequate and doomed to failure.

Don't you often wonder what motivates people to take an exposure tour rather than go to a nice resort, sip fruity drinks and relax. Instead, people go and spend their time in these gut-wrentching situations, watching these poor people struggle to survive.

The program includes encounters with historians, educators, labour, women, political, religious, and grassroots leaders as well as exiles from Central America. The personal stories from people who live in urban squatter settlements, orphanages, and rural indigenous villages are intermingled with an ample amount of group reflection time to process new insights. This group will also explore the Aztec archeological site of Teotihuacan, and Mexico City.

The event is tailored to the DSW program and is lead by QUEST Board Member and DSW graduate Tammy Wells, and QUEST Director Gary Warren. The Fa

I'm nervous.
There is no getting around this anxiety. As soon as this project got serious, more than just an idea on a piece of paper, it started eating away at my gut. It is that damn praxis - knowledge and action married. After reading all kinds of theory on citizen journalism and its impact on traditional journalism, it was time to create an "real world" experience. Out of the books and on to the ground.
So, here we go.
Quest Internacional is taking four trips to Mexico over the next few months with a wide range of people on an exposure tour. This is a life altering experience, where every day people like you and me go to visit these fantasic place. Far away from glitzy hotels and tourism, The participants, made up of students, faculty and members of the community, experience first-hand the incredible lives of these Mexicians. For some it is a jarring, transformative event.

The program includes encounters with historians, educators, labour, women, political, religious, and grassroots leaders as well as exiles from Central America. The personal stories from people who live in urban squatter settlements, orphanages, and rural indigenous villages are intermingled with an ample amount of group reflection time to process new insights. This group will also explore the archeological site of Xochicalco, and regional centres such as Jantetelco, Cuautla, and Tehuixtla.

The event is tailored to the Justice, Media, SSW, and Bio-Sciences programs, and is lead by QUEST Board Member and Loyalist Computer Systems Analyst, Tony Orrick. The Facilitator is Loraine Woodard, originally from California, but currently living in Mexico.

QUEST for Justice Internacional (QUEST) is a federally registered nonprofit Canadian educational organization, financially accountable to a volunteer Board. In the QUEST program, participants experience the reality of the majority of the people on our planet by encountering it in Mexico. Participants engage in experiential and transformative education about social justice and global issues. They learn more about themselves and their role in the world through a direct encounter with people living in adverse conditions.

Together they examine poverty, racism, sexism, terrorism, oppression, and the effects of globalization and neoliberalism. In doing this, they are encouraged to ask "What role do I play in this?"

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