My first off-campus retreat

At first, the sound of leaving campus for a “retreat” sounds slightly scary. Will there be Wi-Fi? Will I experience heavy FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)? Will camp food be unbearable? And will my friend crew find a new one over the weekend?

Fortunately (except for the Wi-Fi) none of this happened over the weekend over my OIIL Retreat, which stands for the Office of Intercultural & International Life. On Friday, we boarded buses and slowly watched our cell phone reception fade, forcing us to engage in conversation with the strangers around us. We gaped over the sunset and commented on the rural environment around us, still not sure what to expect.

After walking over two hills from where the bus dropped us off we finally arrived at our lodge. The staff welcomed us with icebreakers and games to help us become comfortable sharing our identities. One beautiful thing was the formation of Safe Spaces, in which people became active listeners and focused on the way humans share experiences without judgement. The concept of intersectionality is emphasized, in which many different aspects help form our idea of “being.”

With tears and hugs and discussions that lasted into the long nights, I never imagined that one weekend would lead to relationships with people I am excited to know further. I connected with individuals who come from a similar upbringing, socioeconomic status, sexuality, or shared my race or aspirations. And while these things are important, so are our unique, individual qualities. And what better way to have experienced this than by sharing dorms out in the wilderness with ladybugs, the radiant sun, and tortilla chips 🙂

Sergio hails from Tucson, Arizona, a land where everyone adopts several cacti for pets, and eggs are fried to perfection on sidewalks from consistent 100+° F temperatures. That said, his interests include rock climbing, foreign films, and vegan/vegetarian cooking (and is always looking for treats in his mailbox). He is a potential Cinema & Media Studies or Political Science major who hopes to spread equality & activism through mixed media. Read on to meet the rest of our bloggers.