Steve Klein -For the first time in my tenure at Wabash, I missed the full schedule of W-Nights.  This Thanksgiving week I traveled to Mexico City with Rick Warner and his History 350 class. The idea of joining Dr. Warner surfaced during a W Night trip last year to and from Cincinnati.  Admissions staff and faculty learn a lot about each other’s worlds on a car ride from C’ville to destinations a few hours away.

After sharing stories about student learning from past immersion trips, Dr. Warner suggested I consider joining a group he hoped to take to Mexico City in 2006.  President Ford saw the value in it and Mrs. Klein had no objections. Twelve months and four immunizations later I was on my way.

Thanksgiving without my family would be different.  But in a country without Thanksgiving at all?  That seemed bizarre! For our students’ experiences of their Thanksgiving week in “La Capital” you may want to check out their blog coordinated by Jesse James ’08. 

While missing the traditional meal and football left me a little empty on Thursday, I was able to capitalize on the fact that schools were open on Friday. Tour guide and task master Warner scheduled nothing that day so students could work on their projects or visit areas of interest to them.  I visited a high school.

David Clapp, our Director of International Students and Off-Campus Studies, arranged for me to visit Greengates High School.  Greengates is an independent British International Day School with 1200 students (K-12). Upon graduation, about half of the students attend colleges in the US. Others matriculate in Canada, Mexico, and European countries. Israeli students return to their country for military service. 

Don Feeney ’07 accompanied me to Greengates School and was invaluable.  First of all, Don is fluent in Spanish and spent a semester in Spain. His ability to converse with the taxi driver ensured that we arrived on time, safely, and without exploding my per diem.  Don also was the target of most of the students’ questions about Wabash. Needless to say, the college for men issue was on most of their minds.  We brought back the names and contact information for five students with whom we plan to follow up.    

As we said good bye to the counselors at the School, I couldn’t help but think of how Walter Blake must have felt when he started recruiting in Texas over a dozen years ago. Instead of getting an occasional student from the Lone Star State, we now enroll 10-15 freshmen a year.  Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether a single activity will become a fond memory or the start of something much more significant.