OU in Puebla

By Armando Garcia

It has been a year since we waved goodbye to the spring 2020 OUP students. Looking back at the unfolding story as reported in the news at the time, I somehow imagined there would not be a direct impact on our lives at OU in Puebla. What a mistaken perception that was!

The logistics of sending students back home in March 2020 due to the pandemic was not the fundamental challenge; the difficult part was letting students know that they had to go back to the U.S. Students had dreamed about this opportunity for years. They were learning so much and developing an attachment to Mexico. But remaining was simply not an option.

The last few days in Puebla required discipline. Students who were interacting with locals the week before, attending classes with Mexican and international students and going to restaurants and movies, now had to self-isolate for some days before they were able to travel back to the U.S. The infrastructure at OUP made things easier, including our apartments, which created a safe and comfortable environment. For students staying with host families, there was additional anxiety for the host families themselves, even while the families provided students with an additional layer of care.

Faculty dedication was central to the process. Grady Wray was checking in regularly to hear how students were dealing with their impending departure. We continued to monitor the health situation with authorities in Puebla and the international travel requirements with the U.S. Embassy in Mexico. I reflect in retrospect on the many contacts we sustained, the numerous decisions we made each day, and the stories we heard as the pandemic unfolded and we prepared our students to leave Puebla.

The most difficult part was asking students to pack. Students did what was necessary, but their disappointment was evident. The weight of our decision to close the study center was personally stressful. But we knew the huge responsibility we bore given the confidence that students and their families placed with us. Happily, we now know that we made all the right decisions and that the response, uniformly focused on student needs and safety, was well choreographed.

Following the departure of our students, we moved to a virtual environment, and this became our new way to do things. With students and faculty safely back home, we shifted our focus to adapting to the new situation. But I would love to see the students return to walk the Juarez Avenue and say “hi” to their new friends. What a great experience that would be!

Armando Garcia is director of OU in Puebla, OU's Study Center in Puebla, Mexico.