Being a Mexican-American first-generation college student and attending an institution like Carleton has been reason enough to fill my parents with pride and overwhelming joy. I knew that my goals of studying abroad while in college would give them even more happiness and would give me the satisfaction of learning and immersing myself in a new culture.

Because I came to Carleton as a Posse scholar, one of my responsibilities was to attend weekly meetings until the end of Winter term of my second year. Due to this, my only option was to study abroad over the fall of my junior year. I applied to the Associated Colleges of the Midwest’s (ACM) Community Engagement program in Costa Rica, and a month later, I was granted the acceptance letter to the program. It was official; would be studying abroad my Junior Fall!

When I told my parents about this amazing opportunity, I expected there to be excitement but that excitement was overshadowed by concerns, worries, and questions.

“Where are you going to stay over there?”

“If Carleton is such a good school, why do you have to go so far away?”

“Out of all places, why Costa Rica and not Spain or somewhere else in Europe?”

Letting their youngest daughter go out of state for school was hard enough. Letting her leave the country was going to be even more difficult for them. I understood that, so answering their concerns and logistical questions was the easy part. The hard part was that there was something about the last question that upset and frustrated me.

Why not Europe? Well, my first answer was that everybody always goes to Europe. Not that there is anything wrong with Europe, there was just no program that caught my attention. My second answer was a little longer. I wanted to learn about the education systems south of the U.S border, and the Costa Rica program was perfect for my educational goals. The confusion for them came because they were people from south of the border.

Why would our Mexican-American daughter want to go even deeper south rather than overseas?

The better question is, why not? There is nothing wrong with being Hispanic/Latin@ and wanting to explore the Americas, especially when programs offered pertain to educational goals. I see it as an advantage: I know the language and it allows me to focus even more on the core of the program. I also feel like immersing myself in Latin American culture will allow me to gain a better understanding of the importance of traditions and see the connections between their values and the ones my parents raised me with.

Latin America is not just a destination for White college students, and I guess that is where my frustration came from. Just because I am a Latina doesn’t mean I know everything about my culture. It also does not mean that all Latin-American cultures are the same/alike.

So yes, I am glad that I have this opportunity, that my parents are supportive, and that I will be in a Latin American country.