Marina Castillo, “Peru Held the Key”

When I began my graduate program in creative writing, my advisor told me two things: I was going to take poetry classes, and I was going to see Machu Picchu. Well, I took poetry, and even though I did my best, poetry and I were very much like oil and water. The summer 2022 study abroad trip had been discussed and through a whirlwind of maybes, the trip was planned, and I was signed up.  I didn’t know what to expect when I set off on this journey with six other people that I hadn’t truly met before. Everything was new to me: being out of the country for the first time, the first time my plane ride had been longer than six hours, traveling long distances without my family whom I rely upon. It felt like I was a baby bird being catapulted out of the nest, terrified that I’d plummet to the ground and the trip would be a nightmare. It’s funny how things can work out the opposite of how you think they might – I quickly learned that leaning into Peru, and its culture and Incan heritage, was exactly what I needed: the perfect push to get me out of my comfort zone and into a space where creativity could thrive.

Louise A. Dolan, “Finally, Lithuania!”

On June 17^th, I departed for Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, marking the beginning of an adventure that I have wanted to undertake for many years. Not only did I yearn to visit Eastern Europe, an area of the world I had never seen, but I also wanted to walk the streets of the birthplace of Nana, my grandmother, Julia Betty Leibowitz, born in Vilnius around 1906. I have been researching my family history on all sides, especially my paternal grandmother’s roots, and have continually found myself blocked by the Atlantic Ocean when it came to Nana’s family.  It seemed that the records did not follow them on their historic and courageous voyage from Lithuania in the years 1906-1908 to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. This, then, has been my goal, to fill in the blanks on my family tree, understand what drove them to emigrate to the U.S., and why they chose Wisconsin for their new home. I know that my goals will require more than one visit to Lithuania, and an intensive study of history to understand the political and social upheavals of this tiny nation. On this first journey, though, I’d like to get a glimpse of the soul of Lithuania, try to unravel my familial past, and begin to understand why my ancestors chose to leave their home for a distant and unknown land.