And here we are! We’ve reached the last leg of our Global journey–the last two weeks of learning abroad, exploring, and spending just about every waking minute with this little traveling family we’ve developed. While we are nearing the end of our travels, this past semester has also taught the 17 of us that a lot can still happen in two weeks. And this week was no exception.

The week began with a class trip to the broadcast news headquarters for Radio Free Europe. As someone who one day hopes to work in radio or broadcast journalism, I was thrilled to tour the news rooms, visit the radio sound booths, and interview Paul Tibbetts, an Ole alum who has had a long career with the company. However, what struck me most, was the memorial at the entrance of the office honoring fallen Radio Free Europe journalists. The memorial allowed visitors to read the biographies of each fallen journalist to learn about their career, their death, and the family they left behind. Having spent the previous month of class reading about what it was like to be a female reporter in the Middle East, I was particularly moved by how every biography I read was about someone who had lost their life while reporting from that region. My feelings were compounded by having spent a month in Jordan listening to stories from people that I normally wouldn’t be exposed to in my regular news intake. Seeing the faces of journalists who passed,  while trying to give voice to stories similar to those we were privileged enough to hear while in Jordan, was both heartbreaking and inspiring.

Our Global cohort has been working all semester on a film documentary for our Media, Democracy and the Global Village course. Our film explores threats to democracy in the three countries we’ve visited this semester, and we have used all that we’ve been learning these past months to inform the story we tell. In research for the Czech Republic section of our documentary, we were able to interview Denisa Makova. Denisa is an activist for, and member of, the Roma community in the Czech Republic. Knowing very little about Romani people myself, I was devastated by the stories of loss and persistent oppression Denisa shared with us. I had never heard that 95% of the Romani people were executed during the Holocaoust. The Roma people had suffered from one of the most successful genocides in history, and yet Denisa explained how this is not part of history education in the Czech Republic, or its neghboring countries. It hadn’t been part of history education for us in the United States either. Once again, I was exposed to a story I would have never heard had it not been for this unique semester I have been lucky to be a part of.

As we wrapped up the week, and prepared ourselves for the many impending due dates of finals to arrive, we were ready to enjoy a free weekend in the Czech Republic. I was one of the 11 students who decided to spend the weekend near the Polish border for a couple days of hiking in the mountains. So, the 11 of us did the now-familiar act of hopping on a bus for a long ride out of the city. Upon arrival, we were greeted by fresh air, pine trees, and a small wooden cabin, a nice contrast from the busyness of downtown Prague. The 2022 Global semester is nothing without its many, many, surprise hikes. While the hike we did on Saturday was not a surprise, the incredible, snow-capped mountain views we saw along our way, were a welcomed one. We went from hiking through dense forests in 60 degree weather to pulling our boots out of icy snow near the peak of Snezka mountain only three hours later. Having summited the mountain, legs aching and hearts pounding, we picked a spot on the peak to plop down with some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and apples. Or, if you’re Ben, a bag of gummy bears. And let me tell you, the view I saw as I  looked at my exhausted peers, laying next to each other, sandwiches in hand,  after one of the hardest hikes of the semester, that view rivaled the picturesque snowy mountains sitting  just beyond them.

Our weekend came to a close, and it was time to hop back on the bus, metro, and then the tram to our apartments in Prague. A mere hour after arriving home, I was back in the apartment lounge for another infamous writers meeting. Back in Ecuador, we were each divided into working roles for the documentary. Three other Global students and I were tasked with the role of scriptwriters, and they chose a headstrong group of perfectionists to do the job. Our peers often ask us why it takes so long for the four of us to write a section of the script, or why we passionately butt heads with one another over writing (…occasionally). As we worked on the last section of the documentary this weekend, the answer to their questions became clear to me. 

It was really important for us to get it right.

This semester has proven the importance of letting people tell their stories. It has also demonstrated that immense amounts of learning and empathy can result from listening to someone else’s story. The documentary was both a chance to capture our story, taking part in this experience, as well as some of the stories we heard along the way. While scriptwriting, I saw how the bigger themes from our travels, community connectedness and the importance of distributing political power, became as important as the little things like the boys accidentally buying spaghetti sauce with beans in it for dinner; Katie deciding that sliding down the mountain on her back was more efficient than braving the slippery slope on foot; Ayla and Allie delivering cookies to all of us at night; or the writers laughing at Markian’s desire to incorporate words like “bulwark” into the script. All of these stories and moments are important, and we took the task of telling them seriously. Everyone working on this project has.

As a senior, these last weeks on Global are the last weeks of my undergraduate education. And what an extraordinary educational experience to end on! I will never forget what I’ve learned from the stories I heard this semester, or the importance of listening for stories in places you may not expect them. As we prepare for our final week of this once in a lifetime experience, I will hold close the memories that will one day become the final chapter in the story of the 17 of us.