“Why Am I the One Who Gets to Go to Mexico?”: Nepantlera Bridging Among Latinx Students in a Decolonial Study Abroad Program

Abstract

Background: Little research on Latinx students studying abroad has explored the historic sensibilities they bring to their experiences abroad related to their bordered realities. Research Purpose and Question: This study explores the experiences of Latinx students in one Mexico study abroad class session through the lenses of border theory and Anzaldúan theory. The research question was: What are the experiences of Latinx students as they reflect on their unique participation in a heritage study abroad program, particularly their understanding of the metaphorical “in between” space at borders? Participants: The participants were nine Latinx students. Research Design: The study used a qualitative research design. Findings: Our data analysis revealed two primary findings. First, the students were heavily engaged in nepantla (living in the liminal in-between) as part of the study abroad process. Second, the students experienced connection as nepantleras. The students’ expressions of nepantla were experiences of self-awareness around their guilt and grief. Their nepantlera connection was with themselves; their language, culture, and identity; the group; and their families, in spirit and in the flesh. Conclusions and Recommendations: As the students allowed themselves to talk about, reflect on, and process their feelings, they were planting the seeds for transformation and healing. Because of their facultad (gift of awareness) as nepantleras (bridge builders), we observed the students create bridges not only for their conflicting feelings, but also for their families’ interactions and experiences, all of which were painful and challenging for them. Gaining experiences of connection and strengthening their connectionist facultad provided the students with the opportunity to internalize and embody community building while their facultad gave them an awareness to begin their personal transformations. We argue gaining the lived experience of building community through a connectionist facultad has the potential for the students in this program to create transformative spaces and experiences with their families and their local communities. For K–12 and U.S.-based higher education, our findings support the implementation of ethnic studies and critical multicultural curricula not only to attend to guilt that may be experienced by Latinx youth, but also as a remedy for the disconnect many feel toward their heritage. For directors and researchers of study abroad, we suggest examining both the demographics of the countries where students study and the demographics of the participants in the study abroad group to determine how this influences the students’ feelings and interactions and to guide program development.