Capítulo Uno

-This first post was actually written Thursday June 2nd but I couldn´t post it until today, Wednesday the 8. In this post I talk mostly about the day to day but in future posts, rather then give detailed summaries of my days I´ll simply describe certain events or things that affected me. I think all will find this more agreeable as I´ve tried to be brief and it´s simply not working. :) I love all of you dearly! And now, the first 3 days!

¡Ay! It is currently 4:15pm on (16:15 as all the digital clocks say here) and already I feel very strange writing in English and it has only been 48 hours. Mis pensamientos (thoughts) are a mix of Spanish and English, with the Spanish slowly taking over…which is EXACTLY what I want. Muchas Gracias a todos están orando para mi fluidez en español (thank you very much to everyone who is praying for my fluency in Spanish). I have a LONG way to go but it is encouraging to see improvement and know there is hope. While speaking with the head of the NGO with which I am volunteering, Pedro, I joked about my frustration with my slow language acquisition; (said in Spanish) “Pedro, I have been here for 36 hours and STILL I am not fluent! What is the problem?” Of course this was a joke but being the impatient soul I am, there are moments when I feel this way.

To all of you who read my blog last summer I will do my best to be more concise however, I apologize in advance because I am both verbose and wish deeply each of you could experience each place either on your own or with me so my entries tend to be prolix. I will also do my best to take more pictures which is also difficult for 2 reasons:

a. I hate being identified as a tourist,

b. I would rather be taking everything in with my whole self rather than through a lens. Listen to the song 3x5 by John Mayer, lo explica mis sentimientos perfectamente.

I arrived earlier than my scheduled time of 2:35pm en el aeropuerto en la cuidad de Mexico, collected mi maleta (suitcase), changed my money into pesos (10.62 pesos/dollar) and waited for the woman who was supposed to pick me up. She found me around 4:15 because she had been looking for me in the other of the 2 terminals).

Before being found by the AMAZING Monica I would soon come to know, I was befriended by a fundraiser for a different NGO. We enjoyed talking about the workings of charitable organizations, how they function in Mexico and his view on fundraising (which was much more positive then mine). I say this because upon leaving with Monica I experienced my first Adiós in Mexico. When you meet people for the 1^st time, reunite with friends or say good bye you always give a sort of half hug by bending at the waist and putting your right arm on their left shoulder and your right cheek on their left cheek and making a kissing sound. The closeness of the abrazo (hug) depends on the closeness of the relationship but Monica, David and I all exchanged these good-byes before we left and I have been using it quite a bit ever since.

Monica brought me to her apartment which she shares with another woman named Rebecca and soon two other women as well. There are 3 bedrooms, a small living room, bathroom and kitchen. I am staying in the living room with a little cot-ish bed and a sheet over a rope for privacy. Both Monica and Rebecca are fantastically welcoming and generous and have taken excellent care of me and I have no doubt this will continue. I do hope however, I will need less and less help as I find my way around and will therefore, be less of a burden.

My first day was miércoles el primer día de junio (Wednesday June 1^st) and Rebecca helped me wake up at 6am so I could join her for a spinning class. Both she and Monica take 3 classes a week at a near by gym; Pilates, Spinning and Zumba. I am THRILLED to join them for all 3 during the next 4 weeks. The class was incredibly enjoyable, the instructor attentive and spinning to Spanish music at 6:15 in the morning in a small room is simply an experience. I have no doubt the entire class was certain of my insanity due to the enormous grin I

maintained throughout the class, even during the periods of extreme exertion. Unfortunately, to inform those who have not exercised with me, this habitual smiling while receiving endorphins is not unusual…

By 9:30am I was showered, had enjoyed fresh cantaloupe thanks to the generosity of Rebecca and was in the car on my way to my fist day of volunteering with HOPE Worldwide. Driving though the significant morning traffic of Mexico City was the head of HOPE in Mexico, Pedro, who as a dentist and has been working for HOPE during the past 10 years. In addition to charitable distributions and various service days, HOPE has 4 main programs in Mexico City:

1. A pharmacy and clinic which provide general medial attention as well as Gynecology, Pediatrics, Orthopedics, Psychology, Physiotherapy and Dental care ranging from checkups to Orthodontics and Oral Prosthetics.
2. Traveling Medical and Dental groups which visit marginalized and outcast communities.
3. A Child Nutrition Center which provides breakfast for 250 children very weekday in a poor area on the outskirts of Mexico city with more than 25,000 families averaging 6 children per family.
4. Aids Prevention Program which educates more than 25,000 teenagers and parents through classes taught at Public Secondary Schools. The locations for these classes are assigned by the Ministry of Education in Mexico.

I spent Wednesday in the clinic helping the Roldolfo the nurse who runs the pharmacy. The room where all the medicines are stored is incredibly small and the packaging designers of pharmaceutical companies are not especially space conscious which requires us to make a few adjustments. Therefore, Roldolfo and I passed the day working on my Spanish and his English while opening the boxes and refilling them with multiple packets of medicines. We also had to destroy the unused boxes so no one could try to fill them with something else and

attempt a sale. The patients are never given the entire box but only the number of packets needed, each of which are clearly marked.

At 5pm I left with Pedro and his wife Rosa who also works at the clinic. We picked up their 2 adorable children and spent a bit of time at their home before Pedro brought me to church.

My 1^st Mexican church service was fantastic! As par the course in Mexico everyone was extremely friendly and welcoming and I even met a young woman named Lucy who had spent a year in my home town of San Jose, CA in 2008, right after I left for Georgia. Oh yes, and I’ve already fallen in love with all the Mexican children! They are so cute and might even give the children in India a run for their money.

After service I took the metro home with Rebecca. Monica was visiting her family so it was just the two of us. The metro here is similar to those in the states except there are separate cars for men and women/the elderly in the evenings. Personally I think this is a fantastic idea! Not only does it smell better, sorry boys, but we ladies don’t have to worry about creepers. However, there were plenty of interesting sights to make me feel uncomfortable in the metro outside of the cars. The friendliness and closeness I so love about the people here also translates into relationships and therefore the public displays of affection between couples are more…significant…than those in the US. I learned quickly however to ignore the kissing and focus on where I needed to go and attempting to speak Spanish with Rebecca and soon we were back at the apartment and getting ready for bed.

Thursday, today, I was not able to sleep in anymore than the day prior. I set my alarm for 5am to give me time to dress and read my bible before being picked up at 6:15am to visit the Centro de Nutrición Infantil (Child Nutrition Center). This time I was driven by Guillermo, a brother in the church here who is good friends with Rebecca and has an INCREDIBLE heart to serve. We were able to talk the while hour an a half all about HOPE’s work around the world and many other interesting things both Spiritual and not. We spoke mostly in Spanish and Guillermo helped me considerably. He is also fluent in English and loves it so I couldn’t help but give him time enjoy it.

A sign for HOPE painted on a wall near the Center which is just down this street.

The center was fantastic and it was amazing to see all the children and talk with them and the parents. This is my first time abroad where I was actually able to speak the language and communicate with people without the help of a translator and I just can’t get enough! So much more is learned from conversations when you are able to look the person in the eye, understand what they are saying and empathize by meeting them at their level. My heart broke when I was talking with a mother of 4 and was trying to read a sign and didn’t understand one of the words. I asked her what it meant and she said she didn’t know because she can’t read. How challenging! Imagine how she will feel when her children begin to read and she can’t answer their questions or worse, if due to her lack of literacy there is little focus on education for her children and they never learn. The center is run by a patient and hardworking woman named Vicky. Guillermo and Vicky explained to me that there are many fights in the neighborhood, even between the women and so she has to not only organize the program but remove the women who are trying to fight while still feeding their children and others. Upon our visit however, the center was running like a well oiled machine with all the 10+ local volunteers working hard, zero fights and all the children well fed with vitamin enhanced chocolate milk, eggs with sausage and watermelon.

This brother and sister were running all over the place after everyone left and the center was being cleaned. They were so funny but there were a few times I freaked out because I thought they were going to fall off these stairs.

3 of the 4 children of one of the volunteers who also lives in the area. They were so wonderful and mature. 4 very sweet and peaceful children. The niña is 7 and the 2nd child. She is super helpful and responsible was helping with the other children. I was so impressed. Two more cutey patooteys :)

After our time at the Nutrition Center, Guillermo and I braved the traffic to drive back to the center of Mexico City and find me a SIM card so my phone will work here. I have the same BlackBerry I used in India last summer, it’s the family’s travel phone. Then he showed me an awesome restaurant called El Ocho which is a part of the city called Condesa and is where I would have lived had I gone on the trip with Georgia Tech. There were computers set into the wall at the tables so you could take a picture and email it to yourself and you could make it warped or black and white etc. Of course the food was also awesome and you can have breakfast here until 1pm because Lunch is between 1 and 3 so instead of putting bread at the table they put a basket full of croissants and Mexican pastries.

Later I walked Reforma which is a large street close to my house and is pretty much the center of tourism in the city. I’ll put pictures in the next post rather than describing it here but let me simply say…it’s awesome! On my way back to my house I spent 20 pesos or $2 on a HUGE cup overflowing with fresh fruit. Que Rico! And I’m going to bed early because tomorrow is ZUMBA!

The awesome fruit after I already ate some...It was overflowing. And coffee Pedro gave me for my early morning Thursday. YUM!