And so it begins!
Noticias de Cuernavaca, Mexico
Katie
el 19 de agosto – el 3 de septiembre, 2007
If you are reading this, then ¡muchísimas gracias! for being a source of encouragement and support (in part through reading this, and also for being someone who cares to read it). To explain things is fuller detail, this newsletter would quickly become monthly novels. So, to keep things short I am going to include some of the most influential moments.
First of all, I am HERE in Cuernavaca finishing the second of two orientations. We had one week-long orientation in Chicago (the University of Chicago campus in Hyde Park) followed by one week orientation in Mexico. It has been an absolute whirlwind and time has been flying by. Some notes from the orientations:
Chicago orientation was a series of lectures of general information and a few small group discussion meetings. Most importantly, it was a much needed opportunity to remove other distractions like jobs and packing and process everything. We all spent a lot of time together discussing our summers and our initial feelings about the upcoming year. (To be honest, it was 63 volunteers constantly externally processing and spewing emotions as we tried to come to grips with our current reality). Our chaplain for the weekend was awesome and very inspiring. Most of the lectures covered very general information for volunteers going to 10 different countries. We had a couple free nights to escape our deep self-reflective routine. We spent most of the time hanging out in Hyde Park and we went downtown to the Art Institute for an evening as a group. On my own, I had a chance to visit a couple old friends living downtown and spent the next day having lunch with them and wandering around the downtown area.
August 27th, the official departure date from O’Hare, came and went quite quickly. I was shocked how quickly it arrived and how much I’ve done since then. We first arrived in Mexico City in time for dinner and a brief overview of things to know for Mexico. Tuesday we went to the zócalo (downtown center) and saw some famous murals by Diego Rivera in the Palacio Nacional. Then we went into the main basilica called la Catedral Metropolitiana and looked around before we went to lunch. After la comida, we went to see the Templo Mayor, the remains of the Aztec ruins from the original city of Tenochtitlan. It was fun to see the ruins and imagine the history that lay underfoot.
Over the past few days we have had the chance to visit our placement sites and each other’s sites. Not only was it great to get an idea of where I will be working before the first day, it was also awesome to see where the others will be. Now when they share stories, I’ll be able to imagine them there and their coworkers.
Of my two sites we first visited la Estación which is my morning site for the railroad community. I’ll be teaching English to the three levels of kindergarten (ages 3-6ish in this grade system). It sounds like I will be traveling to different classrooms throughout the day but I don’t know how often or for how long. There are a few other unknowns about the site and my responsibilities especially concerning my specific job as the English teacher there. But I’ll have a chance to talk with the directora a bit more on the first day (Tuesday, el 4 de septiembre). We also went to visit one of the families living in la Estación and heard the mom tell her story. It was both heartbreaking and also incredibly humbling. To think about how her family can survive in the face of such difficult circumstances makes me wonder if I would have the strength to do the same if I were in her shoes. It also makes me very aware of my dependence on my own priveleges. Quite a powerful encounter.
A few days later, we went to my other community center site called Casa Tatic. It provides a sort of afterschool program for children of parents that have to work in the market to make ends meet. The parents, often street vendors, can drop off their kids and the Casa Tatic will feed and provide eduction for the children from preschool age through high school age. I will be assisting a first level of kindergarten classroom (preschool age). It seems rather aparent that this site will be focusing on spending time with the kids and having fun with them through activities like artwork, games, or music instead of focusing on specific classroom instruction.
We did an activity called “Cuernavaca Quest” in which we did a bit of grocery shopping. It sounds simple enough, but it was an eye-opener to the economic hardships that 70% of Mexicans are currently enduring. They earn minimum wage, 50 pesos per day (roughly $5 U.S.D.). Our list of groceries could barely feed a family for a day (without any meat, eggs, rice, tortillas, or something to drink) and totaled out to almost 100 pesos, which would be two minimum wages. It was shocking to think that the majority of families experience challenge daily. Already in this year of service I am becoming more and more aware of the many gifts that we have.
We met our host families at a welcome dinner which was both nerve-wracking and exciting on Friday night. After first being a bit cautious when chatting with my new host mom, Marcelina, (and her daughter, son-in-law, and grandson) we started to all relax a bit and start joking around. She seems like a great woman and I’m looking forward to getting to know her better. She is a leader of a base Christian community group (a common grassroots way for people to unite through faith but also find strength to resist some of life’s injustices). She already invited me to go to my host-grandma’s (Marcelina’s mom) 93rd birthday party! It is on Friday, a week after we met for the first time. She also invited Winston, another volunteer! Just a glimpse of Mexican hospitality.
On Saturday morning, we went to some pre-Aztec ruins called Xochicalco. It was pretty interesting, as ruins often are, and it was a beautiful site built into some mountains. Looking towards the horizon, we could see steam-created “clouds” lifting from the valleys. Wow. It was absolutely breathtaking.
Monday morning is the official move-in day to the host stays. Marcelina is going to pick me up after lunch here at the center. I am excited to move in and also excited that one of the volunteers, Sarah, is going to be living in the same neighborhood. Both of our host moms go to the same base Christian community group so I’ll see Sarah at least once a week at those Bible studies in addition to the occasional morning run or long walks to our work sites. Right away on Tuesday I start volunteering at my two sites. This week is going to be both trying and exciting but I am looking forward to finally unpacking my suitcase and starting mi vida mexicana.
Besitos y abrazotes,
Katie
To close, a poem that I read at our closing worship: I Tremble on the Edge of a Maybe by Ted Loder
O God of beginnings
As your Spirit moved
Over the face of the deep
On the first day of creation,
Move with me now
In my time of beginnings,
When the air is rain-washed,
The bloom is on the bush,
And the world seems fresh
And full of possibilities,
And I feel ready and full.
I tremble on the edge of a maybe,
A first time,
A new thing,
A tentative start,
And a wonder of it lays its finger on my lips.
In silence, Lord,
I share now my eagerness
And my uneasiness
About this something different
I would be or do;
And I listen for your leading
To help me separate the light
From the darkness
In the change I seek to shape
And which is shaping me.
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