Looking Back

This week I started teaching my own small-group English classes at a high school in France. As I stood before my classes feeling at ease and engaging I could not be more thankful that I began my teaching experience this summer in Mexico. Aside from becoming comfortable with teaching while in La Manzanilla, I also learned many other things. If you are reading my blog from the McGill Lawrence Internship Expo at Reed this November, bienvenido! To sum things up...


  1. What did you learn about yourself in this experience?
I learned that I am far more adaptable than I had thought. This knowledge makes me confident to move new places and countries and not be afraid to interact with locals and use rudimentary language skills. I am OK with being in uncomfortable situations, and learned that they are usually routes to knowledge and growth for me. I returned to Oregon with more Spanish than I ever expected, and from this I learned that I can pick up a language far better through speaking than in a classroom.

 2. What skills did you gain or improve on this summer? Think of hard skills as well as interpersonal skills?
I gained teaching skills. This is the biggest one for me. I also gained comfort speaking a language without full comprehension or confidence, and learned that people appreciate this more than you might expect. Throughout the course of the summer camp, I gained many organizational skills that I didn't think I had in me. In this, I also became better at planning within a group (in a non-native language...) and learned that I must speak up for myself even if I consider myself the underdog.

 3. You all had to write about the purpose your organization served in their community and how your work was to fit in with that mission. Did your perceptions change about how the organization meets the community need?
La Catalina Educational Foundation does indeed have the aim and the community need that I had expected. However, the ways in which the organization attempts to meet these need is far more complicated than I had expected. The student scholarship system runs well and truly meets the needs of hardworking students in the community. The summer camp is also successful in engaging and teaching young students. The other programs, however, face issues of attendance, funding and dedication. Though the community addresses their needs, primarily for English classes, there is a disconnect between the Foundation's course offerings and community attendance. For the organization to fully meet the community's needs this disconnect, whether it be cultural or otherwise, must be closed. How to do that is a big question that I left with, and that the foundation still struggles with.

 4. What did you learn about the community in which you served?
I learned much about the strength and pride of the Mexican family unit, which often has an effect on kids' experience with education, especially the young women. It also creates the kindest, most welcoming culture I have experienced. I also witnessed the interaction of the local culture and the other, entirely separate culture of foreign residents. I struggled throughout my time in La Manz to decipher how I felt about this, as the foundation's work would be far less possible without the donations of the foreign community. Signs of economic dependence were very present, though, in the summer low-season which produces few jobs and much economic struggle.

 5. Did you perceptions change about the issue or non-profits generally?
After interning with LCEF I felt less comfortable with the idea that most non-profits abroad bring in educated young people from a privileged culture to work for a limited time. Though it positively impacts the community, especially when the non-profit is locally based and founded like LCEF, it offers little stability to the community. I became a stronger advocate for educated Americans considering Mexico when looking for volunteer opportunities abroad.

 6. What new knowledge related to your academic discipline can you utilize in addressing community needs in the future?
I didn't learn anything specifically related to English literature or writing, but I did learn that my interest in language and discussion creates a positive approach to teaching, which is vital to addressing community needs all over the world.

 7. Has this experience contributed to your sense of being an engaged community member and citizen?
It definitely has. Instead of going back to school for creative writing, I now want to teach in a public high school, at least for a time. Young people right out of college have a lot of energy to dedicate to communities in need. 

 8. What advice would you have for others embarking on a McGill, Davis or similar experience?
  Realize that it is a learning experience, and you can only as much as you can. There will be things in which you wish you could effect greater change, but one summer is a limited about of time and it is best to focus on a specific project than become frustrated that other small projects may be taking much longer than you expected (my own experience). I would also suggest that those considering applying without specific organizations in mind, to consider Mexico. We often go far away when engaging in non-profit work when so much is needed right across the border.

9. What do you wish you had known before you started your first day?
In less developed countries things happen more slowly and in more complicated fashions than here. Do not expect your project to go exactly as planned, but do expect to learn and adapt as things change given what is available and not.

I miss you, La Manz.

In which I pretend to be a food blogger.

I started this blog as a means to keep in touch, to reflect on my project, and to write, in general, even when I didn't have the energy to write creatively (yes, I know this is probably a cop out). Happily I've found that people actually read the blog, which shouldn't be surprising because there is something about the blogosphere that sucks you in like a teen sitcom. And by people, I mean more than my closest amigas and my grandparents: family friends, distant relatives, other random people my mom talks to.

So, I thought it might be time to treat these people (YOU), to a taste of the blogging that I find myself buried in all day: food and lifestyle blogging, usually mixed colorfully together into a interesting blend of intimate story telling. This isn't too sideways of me, because one of the [many] things I have enjoyed most about being here is living a bit differently than I did in Portland. For the past two years I have lived with two lovely boys and my bff Kate. Then we picked up one more, my bestie from childhood, who took to a corner of the basement. Our floor has been coated inches thick in Pabst multiple times, our sink was usually overflowing, and I'm impressed our youth-hating neighbors haven't moved.

Now, for the first time, I live alone. I have an entire fridge to myself, a handful of big, un-shrink-wrapped windows, and my own bathroom. Despite my ridiculous imagination, which would normally run wild with a whole apartment to itself, I love being alone in this space at night, even in the latest or earliest hours when I cannot sleep because dogs are barking or our neighbors are singing along to their favorite mixtape at 2 am (I've heard it many times). In fact, I think all of these noises and something about Mexico simply makes me feel safer at night. Something about the "si dios quiere" (if God wills it) and familial mentality that makes my head go less crazy in the dark.

Alright, so given all of these comforts, my lifestyle hasn't changed drastically. But I have been entertained much by attempting to make do cooking with the materials I have. Because I am only living here for two months, I don't want to accumulate half bags of sugar, flour or cinnamon, so I buy dry rice, beans, and oats when I need them, and have been playing with the same bag of Masa flour for a while. I have also altered my diet considering the insane prices of foreign products like tofu. Fun times in the land of ridiculously-priced peanut butter.

Some things I eat:

Nopales:
Cut from the pads of prickly pear cacti (thanks wikipedia), a bag of nopales in the fridge of a Tienda looks like a bag of sliced green bell peppers but only tastes like nopales. I stir-fry them with onion and garlic until they are slimy enough to taste salty, and then I turn the heat up so they almost burn. I'm going for the grilled fajita flavor and almost get it. I almost always have them with beans and tortillas, and often scrambled eggs.

Papusas or Bean Tacos with Cabbage and Jícama Salad:
I know that papusas aren't a Mexican food (El Salvadorian). So why did I begin making them by hand when I moved to Mexico? Well, I have fond memories of eating them in the SF Mission and also the Venice Beach sand with almost my whole Portland household, thinking about how the smog makes good sunsets. More importantly, I see masa corn flour in the stores far more than regular flour, and am not ambitious enough to make tamales (though stay turned, as we're planning to next week). Making papusas (imperfect, lumpy ones) turned out to be super easy. You just mix the masa with water to make a dough and then get your hands incredibly dirty trying to make thin masa paddies and fold them around some spoonfuls of refried beans. Though I often make my own black beans, canned refried beans made smoother, prettier papusas. The extra salt and oil makes it extra tasty, too.

Its fine to top your papusa with salsa, but I also like to make a cold salad with jicama, cucumber, shredded cabbage and mango, with lots of lime and sea salt, and pile it on top. I do this with black bean tacos too. Mmmm. My obsession with this bulky version of the papusa began around the time that I discovered the heaven-sent wonders of fried plantains. My. God.

Smoothies
Oatmeal used to be one of my favorite foods. And by "used to be" I mean since about 5 weeks ago. After blowing out fuses a couple of times in the early morning, my microwave up and silenced itself. I would say died, but then I would feel guilty... (it will be fixed). What to do for breakfast then? Put everything I'd normally put in oatmeal in the blender: oats, Ades soy milk, mango and banana in the blender. Plus some flax seeds and a carrot and lots of ice. Or blackened plantains to make it super sweet and super wonderful.

***

So now I'm feeling the itch of the same conflict I feel when I spend so much time reading food blogs. Why am I interested in these people's lives and their beautiful food that I might bookmark, but will probably never make? And why are you interested in this (considering you're still reading)? Maybe it's voice. Maybe it's the same interest in getting outside of your own life and into someone else's that makes aimlessly browsing Facebook so entertaining. Whatever it is, I hope you have your own reason for enjoying my blog, as I enjoy writing it.

I visit a handful of blogs consistently when I am bored. There is SO much delicious food out there, made even more appetizing by writing and photography. So, here's a baby-sized blogroll:
Choosing Raw
Smitten Kitchen 
Jen Goes to College
Gluten Free Goddess

Week Two: Medio Ambiente

I didn't mention in my last post that this week of camp would be something new and special. Of course "new" doesn't mean that much because different people run the camp each summer, but this year instead of just having an "environment week" in English class, we were able to partner up with Yohaira, a biology student who lives in La Manzanilla, for lessons with much more depth. We learned early on in the planning that you can only teach kids so much in a non-native language (global warming, ecosystem, and limited resources were out of the question).

Yohaira teaching on the beach.

 Yohaira came to us with a solid, age-appropriate curriculum about natural habitats, waste, decomposition, and other very important environmental issues. We have positioned her lessons during recreo, so once the kids get to English, not only have they been introduced to the concepts, but they are tired out from walking down arroyo or beach in the morning sun. After their jaunts with Yohaira, picking up trash or exploring the ocean as a habitat (aka collecting sandcrabs in dirty cups they find), some of them aren't too keen on concentrating in the classroom, but they are quick to respond when we ask questions about the 3 R's, littering, and what is "good" and "bad" for the environment.

The kids were surprisingly eager to run around and pick up trash on the beach. Best Recreo ever!

 The lessons are reiterated, too, in art class, as they turn their own shoe boxes into seashore dioramas and their old toilet paper rolls into colorful pencil holders. Yohaira also wanted to work with the kids to share their knowledge with their families and the communities. She has provided quotations in Spanish for posters, which the kids decorated today and will hang with her tomorrow in the Jardín during recreo.

In many ways it seems consumption is much lower here because people reuse and repair things like clothing, toys, and appliances much more often. For example, when I first got here, we went to Melaque to repair Nancy's old fan. In the states many would consider the fan "old" and buy a new one. However, packaging waste and littering is a huge problem and hopefully Yohaira's lessons and the signs in the Jardín will get people thinking about it in a new way.

Yohaira's project this week has exemplified the benefits of working with local people and the skills and knowledge they have to teach different types of lessons through the Foundation's programs. This is necessary to keep in mind when planning future programs and evaluating the foundation's success within the community, discussions which have been raised lately as the fall draws nearer. We have observed our classes narrowing drastically in size during the late spring and summer and have many questions: Why don't more people attend our classes, when so many claim that learning English is among their top priorities? Does everyone in the town know about LCEF? Do we need a better way to spread the word, or should we alter the types of programs offered? Will a small fee make people more likely to dedicate themselves to the programs? We ask this question because a local woman charging a small amount for homework tutoring has a better turnout than our free tutoring program (still run by a local woman) does.

In response to all of these questions and our acknowledged need for some changes, Nancy is preparing a survey, which will be distributed in coming months. We all feel that regardless of participant number we must continue offering adult English classes, but we also see the need to discover what else we can do to attract long-term learners. This type of predicament also brings about questions of how we must work around and with cultural differences (when it comes to timing, commitment, advertisement, ect.) when planning. Hopefully further discourse with the community, especially the eventual surveys, will produce some answers that will make our programs more accessible to all.

It's hard too pinpoint why my lust for blogging has began to lag. My best guess is that with only two weeks left in La Manzanilla, I have stopped wanting to share, analyze, and summarize, choosing instead to simply experience. Things have stayed relatively the same throughout my time here, and this simplicity has escaped stagnation. Despite the drastic changes in coloration (all of a sudden I am surrounded by green. SO MUCH GREEN) and daily schedule, the pleasant, tranquil way of life I have grown so accustomed to goes on unaltered.

Some examples of the green. After a month or so of rain the creeks have filled and the entire landscape has changed.

  Friday marked the end of the first week of Curso de Verano, LCEF's summer camp for local kids grades 2-6 (or whatever grade their parents say they are in... we have some very little ones). In English class, our theme for the week was "The Five Senses," which gave us lots to work with including fun vocab about the body, textures, smells, and tastes, and interactive games. Neither Steph nor I had worked with so many kids before, especially of such varied ages, and we definitely found, over the course of the week, what types of classroom interaction work better than others. We generally stuck to 15 minutes of vocab teaching, a 20-ish minute experiential game, and 15 minutes with these workbooks we made which have lots of coloring and word games. The station-to-station games, like the one where you stick your hand into dark mysterious containers and guess the texture, worked the best, because there was a lot of movement and everyone got to do each activity. Things like hangman and charades, which we do a lot of in the after-school classes, didn't work as well because it left some kids to look out the windows and wish it was time for art.

Speaking of art, Isa's classes were awesome. The projects generally went along with the English themes: fruitloop jewelery (taste), textured solar systems (touch), origami frogs and crocodiles (sight), and the beginnings of painted drums made of big old yogurt containers (hearing). Throughout all of the classes the space gets pretty hectic, but we are learning to go with it. Luckily we have handfuls of teenage volunteers (LCEF's scholarship students have to do a certain number of community service hours) to help out. And a perfect end to the week: a swimming trip!

Even as I write this I'm struggling not to fall into a factual sentence + piles of pictures blog strategy. I am sleepy from a lovely evening swim wherein there were currents of really cool water flowing through the warm water. It felt amazing, and also reminded me of swimming in cool river water, which I will probably do pretty darn soon. This weekend has been well balanced between relaxing, planning for the coming week, and doing some cool stuff. Really cool stuff, actually. Saturday morning we went on a gorgeous hike in the mountains, and on Saturday evening we took a little boat tour in the marshes where the crocodiles live with Jens, a 17 year old boy who is studying at the Spanish school. The marsh is right in town, blocked off only by a chain link fence, and there are raised wooden paths running through it. Crocodiles are pretty scary from afar, not to mention from a rickity foot bridge over the marsh.

Our boat ride was surprisingly peaceful, despite the pools of tiny bubbles that would form around the boat from time to time (crocs under water). We went in the evening, and all of the birds were flying around the mangroves as the sun went down slowly. After our tour we stopped by a hoppin birthday party, with a full band and tons of cake and balloons. Then we hung out with Jens for a while, I ate too many Japonesa flavored peanuts and almost choked on my water when Jens told me that instead of cars or limos, the kids of suburban Minnesota now take pimped out Party Buses to prom. Glad I'm still learning so much in La Manz. Finally, I must share this picture of the rather epic entrada to La Manzanilla.

DF (Distrito Federal) aka Mexico City

A couple of things have pleasantly surprised me lately: (a) I can actually sleep a full, 9 hr night on a bus; (b) being sandwiched between ten men on an evening subway ride in downtown Mexico City is not always as bad as it sounds, and in fact much like being in a hellishly overcrowded club (which I guess sounds very bad); (c) a lost affinity for taking cold showers can be recovered. In fact, this list could go on forever, because almost everything about our trip to DF was surprisingly smooth, despite the horror stories that we'd heard.

 Our first lovely surprise: Puerto Vallarta is much more charming than it looks from the plane or the bus station. Aside from an Americanized resort strip and the parts of town you can see from the bus, there is also a pleasant downtown, with elaborate old Spanish architecture, lots of restaurants, nice walking streets, and a beautiful cathedral. Also of importance is Hostel Oasis, where though we were greeted by an openly hungover Swedish manager, we were given beds, cool common areas, and free pancake breakfast. We walked all over the town, Stephanie, Denver (her boyfriend who was visiting and flying out of PV), and I, ate some delicious tamales and mushroom tacos, and went out to a lofted bar, which we entered through a sketch elevator in a hotel lobby. This was really fun. Denver had a shot of tequila and a Modela, and I had a tequila sunrise. Yes, we are tourists now.

The above photos (its true, I just discovered Picasa), show our excitement of making it to the city and wandering around to find free art and entertainment behind every open doorway. We were especially enthused by this Spanish Culture Museum music exhibit, which included rooms of blown up gig posters and photos, a room on the history of Sony music-listening machines, and our new piece of heaven: a room with playlists from over 15 Mexican and Spanish labels (plus Arts & Crafts...) along the walls. After a 5 hour over night bus ride (not long enough for a night's sleep) we had arrived that morning at Hostel Mundo Joven, a chain hostel right in the Zocalo. They gave us free toast and fruit, but we were still a little dazed. This state turned into starry-eyed relaxation when we stumbled upon the music exhibit where we were given awesome headphones and little clickers with which to listen to the playlists. It seemed like this was made for us, for in the center of the room sat a group of fluffy beanbag chairs. Needless to say we stayed in that room for a long time.

I got in trouble for taking the above photos, but they seem so necessary to my foreign portrayal of DF. They hang in a high ceiling-ed hallway gallery outside of an urban chic bookstore/coffee shop. There are over 20 different poster designs, all speaking artistically to the cultural offerings of the Centro Histórico. From info gleaned across the city, notably the "MEXICO 2010" signs on the Metro and at museum entrances, it seems that the government has recently gone through a total image renovation, aimed at reversing the dirty, dangerous Mexico City stereotype into one proud of it's rich cultural center, full of art both youthful and old. I haven't the city pre-2010, but I'd propose from the first hours of our visit that the renovation has proved successful. Everywhere we stepped there was not only art, but also sources of learning about Mexican culture and history. The center for this was the Palacio National, known for housing the bulk of Diego Rivera's murals:

It was difficult to photograph the murals, as the sun was shining in from the open courtyard, but I hope the pictures at least hint to their massive scale as well as their ability to tell powerful, layered stories of Mexico's past, present, and future. The Palacio also showcased many artifacts and displays discussing Mexican political and social history, which added great depth to Diego's murals, as well as to our knowledge of both the city and the culture. In the top of the bottom left snapshot, you can see Rivera's rendition of Teotihuacan, the ancient Aztec city whose remains live on, about an hour outside of present-day Mexico City. Our second day in the city we woke up early, had hostel coffee and sweet Bimbo Bakery toast, and navigated through Df's truly accessible Metro system to catch a public bus to the ruins. We were going to get a guide, but instead decided to purchase a map, and guide each other around the ruins. This ended up being a wonderful decision, and resulted in almost four houses of wandering with some direction through the ancient city, spending much time sitting on pyramid levels and weaving between stone walls, chatting and exploring. It was pretty magnificent.

Exhausted from walking up and down pyramids in the midday sun, and my body striped red and white from a little too much of said sun, we relaxed at the hostel for the night, waking up the next morning to roam the Centro Historico one last time. The following at four photos of things I really liked: (a) The cathedral, sitting enormous and elaborate in the center of the square, right before our hostel, (b) this Luis Granta exhibit, which was set back in this large, but unfinished museum. We walked through a courtyard with random construction equipment in it to get to three spacious room of Granta's work, which was colorful, a little abstract, and deeply layered in paint, just like I like it, (c) a plate of sweet bread served before a meal at Cafe Blanca, a big white diner, the type with a counter around the grill where many old men sit and read the paper. I never knew there would be so much delicious bread in Mexico. Can't get enough; and (d) the juxtaposition of old Spanish architecture and modern public art that makes big cities so appealing to me.

On Tuesday we took a combination of metro/train/bus outside of DF to visit Stephanie's friend Cailey and her beautiful baby Xitlali. Her family welcomed us in for the night and she made us some mindblowing chile rellenos. It was definitely worth the hours of transport :)

After returning to the city, we took the metro to a new area of town, Condesa, where we found a bizarrely cheap hostel. Condesa is a semi-hip neighborhood with lots of big old townhouses, trees, and little boutiques and galleries. The hostel itself was pretty hip as well, with a rooftop patio and coffee-shop like bar/common room. It was run by a family who seemed to really like to party (grandma included), and was a tad disfunctional, but for one night it provided us with beds, easy access to a cool area, and a mojitos night complete with some new friends and free internet. The next morning, our last in the city, we went to the infamous museum of anthropology. The museum was really impressive, with extensive exhibits on Mexican history. The artifacts were less interesting, I thought, than the display tags, which turned complicated history and anthropological arguments into comprehensible, affective paragraphs. It was the last museum we went to so that may have influenced my experience... We also took a rainy walk through Chapultatec Park, DF's largest green space, and then walked down the Reforma, a tree lined boulevard that led us to the Angel de la Indepencia:

And so our time in DF went smoothly. It's funny how accomplished a solid little trip can make you feel. There is such a difference between being abroad in a city and being abroad in a tiny town in the country, so we are still adjusting to the reverse of all that excitement (not a negative reverse, don't worry). Our summer camp, which has been our project for the past few weeks, started today and I think it will make the next three weeks fly by. Not that I want them to... I'm a little torn about going home so soon, and am trying to soak up as much Spanish, beautiful beach views, and La Manzanilla as I possibly can. After a long walk on the beach this evening, I think that will be easy to do.

Schools Out!

School is ending for the summer. This means no more after-school English class, or teaching at the Primaria and Secundaria. It also means no more trying to teach over prepubescent antics--soccer balls in t-shirts (Embarazada? Felicidades!), total disinterest, jokes on my Spanish pronunciation. Most importantly, school's end means a handful of ridiculously cute graduation ceremonies. And, let me tell you, the Mexicans know how to do ceremony.

First was the Kinder graduation last week, which was possibly the one with the most attendance, excitement (dancing), and pomp of all three. It was also most adorable. How could it not be?

At the Kinder "graduation" everyone was looking sharp. The girls had the most elaborate hairdos, and everyone stood up straight. Very straight.

The best part of all was the dancing. Not sure why the some of the girls wore perfect white dresses and others preferred to wear ripped jean skirts and crop tops. Watching the trend of unbuttoning and tying up the bottom of your top race down the line of little girls made me feel like a prude. I guess it was kind of hot out?

At the start of every graduation, there is a flag march. At the Kinder we couldn't tell it was tradition because their steps weren't really together. The secundaria and primaria kids this week made it much more obvious. Their shuffles and marches and "Ya!"s were perfect. It was especially entertaining to watch the kids that we teach in class straighten themselves out a little.

Because school is ending, and our internships are transitions, Stephanie and I are going on a little (big?) trip to Mexico city. So...because I am not in the mood to write, I will demonstrate.

I am leaving here:

 And going here:

As I have not made it to DF yet, this photocredit goes to this random blog. Thanks!

Talk to you in one week! <3

In the Spirit of American Patriotism...

I AM GOING TO FRANCE! And just as I was falling asleep last night, strangely exhausted from the two semi-short walks I had taken, I found out my placement. I am going to be teaching secondary school in La Rochelle. After scouring google (maps and images), I have decided that this is great news. It sounds like La Rochelle is a small city, on the Atlantic, medieval in ways, but also a college town with some urban culture. Perfect. After living in La Manzanilla this summer, I think a city, versus a tiny town in the country, will be a welcome change.

You would think that having so much to look forward to would make it difficult to live in the moment here, but that doesn't seem to be the case at all. My mind is obviously split between many places (mostly my imagination, actually), but I still have much to do here, and much to learn. This morning torrential downpour is keeping me inside, but I am busy with camp preparations and have also started writing again, which is a great use of my free time here and whisks away my tiny bouts of loneliness or boredom. In other news, I inconveniently lost my umbrella, which means that when the rain ebbs today I must run down and buy one of the beautifully patterned huge silk umbrellas that all the old women carry. Bummer. : )