Naroa and Jon, students from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), immersed themselves last summer in an expedition through the Yucatan Peninsula, together with colleagues from several Spanish universities, with the initiative Ruta Inti, an experience that has the support from the Directorate of Sustainability and Social Commitment of the UPV/EHU.
Ruta Inti is a social and cultural programme for young people aimed at promoting cultural exchange among its participants and enriching the social environment in which the trip takes place. The expedition is closely connected with environmental awareness and respect for different cultures, always traveling under the slogan of zero carbon footprint and collaborating with different groups, institutions and local NGOs.
The Department of Social Commitment and Sustainability of the UPV/EHU carried out a communication campaign to inform students about the initiative and, in addition, it has covered part of the trip for both students.
Before traveling to Yucatán (Mexico), Naroa and Jon had to overcome a selection process, which began with the preparation of a monograph. Jon was "thinking about a job that had something to do with my field of interest, Medicine, so I ended up doing a study on how the Mayan civilization disappeared." Naroa, for her part, produced a magazine about the Popol Vuh, a kind of Mayan bible "telling how the universe was created according to the Mayan gods."
They both agree that the expedition has made them "acquire a totally different human dimension and understand how different life is between different cultures." What's more, this adventure has also been enriching for their studies. For Naroa, future social worker, it has "encouraged her to carry out her internship in a more community-based and not so individual setting", while for Jon, a future doctor, it helped him see that his career "has many other professional opportunities and to understand and to deal with people.