Newsletter 2006 - Page 3

TRU and Beyond - In depth 

By Martin Whittles

Service Learning Fieldwork

In October 2005 TRU Canadian Studies Service Learning Students Nicholas
Bilbey and Alexei Gavriel, with TRU Canadian Studies professor Dr Martin
Whittles, appeared on the CFJC Midday Show where they discussed their
recent service learning projects. Alexei spent most of summer 2005 in
Russia engaged in an anthropological field school, where he spent
considerable time in the Russian Arctic, living and working with nomadic
indigenous reindeer herders on the tundra. Since his return, Alexei has
worked with visiting Russian students to TRU and provided peer tutoring
at the TRU Writing Centre. Nicholas spent much of last summer in
Guatemala volunteering with 'Global Vision International', a UK-based
humanitarian group, helping to educate indigenous children living in
poverty-stricken rural Guatemalan communities. Upon his return,
Nicholas also peer-tutored at the Writing Centre throughout the 2005-
2006 academic year.

Adventures in the Spanish Speaking World

On Friday, April 7th, the TRU Centre for the Study of Canada proudly
presented Adventures in the Spanish Speaking World: Two Stories From
TRU Students Abroad, featuring illustrated talks by Chantal McDonald,
TRU Arts student at the University of Granada's Centre for Modern
Languages, and Nicholas Bilbey, TRU Biology student, who lived and
worked in Antigua, Guatemala.

This time last year, Canadian Studies Service Learning student Chantal
MacDonald was studying Spanish Language and Culture in the south of
Spain. Applying to the University of Granada's Centre for Modern
Languages, the Arts student was able to pursue her love of anthropology
while interacting with peers from around the world. Six months after her
return to Canada, Chantal spent a month visiting friends in Santiago,
Chile. She will be heading south again this spring to Mexico and
Guatemala after attending TRU's two-week Natural Resource Management
Field School in Belize. This autumn Chantal will be returning to the
University of Granada to earn a diploma in Latin studies and to complete
her TRU Arts degree. Chantal also peer-tutors volunteer at the TRU
Writing Centre.

Organised through 'Global Vision International', a UK-based humanitarian
group, Canadian Studies Service Learning student Nicholas
Bilbey's volunteer project in the summer of 2005 focused on educating
indigenous children living in poverty-stricken rural Guatemalan
communities. A TRU Biology student, he was stationed in the small town
of San Andres Itzapa, a short 30 minute 'chicken' bus ride from Antigua,
where he lived with a host family. There, a dilapidated school is the sole
source of education for many of the chronically poor Mayan people in the
area. Nick taught a class of 8-11 year-olds, covering a broad spectrum of
topics during a life-changing two-month stay. Since his return to
TRU, Nick has been working hard to introduce his fellow students to the
value of international voluntarism through a series of public talks and
special lectures. Nicholas also peer-tutored at the TRU Writing Centre.