Seven months on from returning from my Leadership in Action trip to Mexico City, I still find myself reminiscing over the amazing six weeks I spent in the city! I absolutely adored my time there and miss it every day. 

The final three weeks of my trip were filled with lots of wonderful memories and heartfelt goodbyes. A real highlight was our group trip to the ancient pyramids at Teotihuacán was truly breathtaking and has given me a real passion for learning about indigenous Mexican culture and history. Perhaps my favourite day of the whole trip was my visit to the Frida Kahlo museum in Coyoacán, as I was already a huge fan of Frida Kahlo’s work prior to the trip, and this experience has only furthered this passion. 

Looking back at the project itself, I am so proud of everything that Holly, Jezlyn and I achieved whilst working with Las Sabinas. Our puppet, Emancy, was a huge success and I’ve been really pleased to see her being used in their latest social media campaigns surrounding International Women’s Day. Whilst Florenciendo sobre Ruedas unfortunately did not take place last Autumn due to factors outside our control, we still loved getting to work on the social media campaigns and hope that the content we produced can be used in one way or another. 

I feel that my Leadership in Action experience taught me a great deal about myself and my capabilities, as well as helping me to develop the skills needed to flourish in an unfamiliar environment. The most important lesson I learned is that I am capable of so much more than I think I am. Whether it be travelling abroad on my own for the first time, or navigating a country where I don’t speak the language, I am honestly really proud of myself for getting on with this even though I was pretty anxious leading up to it! I also learned that saying yes to new experiences is one of the best things you can do! When offered the chance to take part in a temazcal experience (an indigenous Mesoamerican sweat lodge ceremony), I was initially afraid of this pretty vulnerable and intense experience, but I chose to take part anyway, and found it all incredibly empowering and spiritual. On the contrary, I also learned that it’s okay to set boundaries, particularly in such an intense six week period! Sometimes I realised that spending some time alone instead of taking part in social activities may be the best thing for me, and I really appreciated giving myself a chance to recharge so that I could put my best self forward when it came to our group work! Particularly because of the overwhelming nature of a trip like this, whilst I had a truly amazing time, I also developed a more sustainable approach to my work, which I have since applied to my studies back in Durham. 

Overall, I am incredibly proud of our whole team for our achievements throughout our Leadership in Action trip and will treasure these memories for the rest of my life!