Lessons of Anapra (The): International Service Learning and Character Education

This article describes an international service learning course developed in 1999 for a group of 18 undergraduate students at DePauw University. This month-long border studies tour to Anapra, Mexico, was my first service learning experience in teaching. Its lessons have framed the author's community-based teaching in the years since and have given her concepts and courage to design similar projects in Juarez, Mexico; Thika, Kenya; and Albuquerque's south valley. Commitments to global inclusion, experiential compassion, and engaged reflection--as well as reciprocity of service and a multidisciplinary approach to academic preparation--have been important and guiding principles for the author in designing local, regional, and international service learning projects over the last seven years. (author). This article provides a model of service learning instruction, as well as a narrative account of the author's experiences in Mexico.