Where would you go if you had eight months to travel solo? Which two continents and six countries would you visit? How would you get there? Where would you stay? What experiences would you seek out? How would you be transformed?
Xoe is a senior in the CHID Program and has never left the country. She will soon be travelling through Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam. She has never before been outside of the West Coast. As a barista, she is compelled by the global dynamics of the coffee trade, especially as it reifies histories of colonialism and migration. As a poet, she is compelled by the poetry, literature, and folk music of each region and their roots in community life. She hopes to find some insight into the pieces of art and culture from these regions that have been so significant in her own life so far from their places of origin, and consider how this kind of interconnectedness manifests in other places, in others’ lives.
These fellowships, established in 1995 and worth $20,000 each, aim to expose students to the intrinsic, often life-changing, benefits of international travel. While traveling, students may not pursue academic study, projects or research.
Read more about the Bonderman Fellowship here: http://bonderman.uw.edu/