Intern Amy Mrotek ’16 introduces herself in this guest post, written after one of the first interviews she conducted for the magazine.
As a profound believer in the power of stories, one of my favorite tasks in my new job here at the office is to conduct interviews with individuals. It’s a hallmark of writing, the ability to contact sources and soak up the words they pour through your ears, sandpapering them into a written article. Writing would be dry and fruitless without the act, an interviewee’s first-hand accounts lending that rich voice and detail needed to spark any narrative. It would be a story without a pulse.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Michael Rosewall, associate professor of music, and student Logan Thomas ’16, on their recent musical excursion to South Africa. Rosewall and Thomas were part of a group of over 20 SNC students, faculty and staff who grabbed their passports and endured 30 plus hours of travel time to and from their destination – including a daylong layover in London. Anyone boasting a travel resume would no doubt gawk at such a trek.
Yet it would be silly to linger on details of the commute when the outcome of the experience so deeply resonated with its experiencers. I quite literally couldn’t keep my mouth shut as Rosewall recounted the day spent at Robben Island (the infamous prison that housed political prisoners during apartheid, including none other than Nelson Mandela himself) and the tours through former slave lodges and museums. Other buildings they visited still contained bullet holes and blast residue from the violent protests the country suffered to break the chains of apartheid.
Thomas spoke openly on one of his standout trip experiences, the overnight township homestay. I’ll admit, when I hear the word township, my naive and Hollywood-influenced brain automatically jumps the sci-fi thriller “District 9”, and I envision large, scaly aliens chumming around, munching on cat food (WARNING: that reference will make no sense to anyone who hasn’t seen the movie).
Though the physical context my imagination assumes – the hodgepodge shacks constructed of metal scraps and wooden boards, the narrow alleys, the lack of proper plumbing, sanitation and poor electricity – is correct, everything else Thomas relayed struck new chords. After pairing off, each member of the trip was welcomed by a host family living drastically below conditions we are fortunate enough to call familiar here in the United States. More than likely, trip participants had never even laid eyes on the lifestyles present in a township. But here they were, eating their food and sleeping under their roofs!
Yet more often that not, it’s in these radically out-of-our-comfort zone encounters that afford the most meaning and introspection. Thomas recalled the large neighborhood dinner he had that night, followed by impromptu rounds of singing and instrumental performances by all sitting in the room. Accents turned irrelevant. Cultures dissolved. Complete strangers became friends. “I can’t remember the last time I smiled so much,” he concluded.
You don’t have to attend St. Norbert College or even utter our mantra of communio to feel the feels these stories evoke. I myself was tingling just trying to put myself in their shoes. For 18 days, they bathed in rainbow of culture, sang songs with strangers, hiked mountainsides and tucked glimmering memories into their back pocket. I merely have the privilege of echoing them.
