I woke up waaay too early today! Kim’s phone went off at 3am. I though we were under attack!! But then I realized it was a ring tone and then I was ok. Then I just went back to sleep. Now I’m wake again! That’s it!
-Mary Guillen ‘11
We had our first real day of “service learning” today. After breakfast, (8:00am) we took a brisk walk to the bus station then eventually to the Metro Station, Tasqueña– our first experience with public transportation. We found it to be relatively safe and efficient. Our group arrived at the Zócalo around 10:00am. Read the rest of this entry »
My thoughts after the talk on Mexican history:
No sé que hago. It’s overwhelming ¿no? eduación, salud, los básicos. ¿Quien lo haría? ¿Quién tiene la valentía? ¿el poder? ¿la pasíon? Dónde empezamos… Read the rest of this entry »
When we went to the Metropolitan Cathedral, I was really excited (since I’m Catholic and all) to see the beautiful huge Cathedral with the wonderful artwork and statues that lined the walls and many prayer stations that they had where you could light a candle, put a pin, or put a ribbon and say a prayer. Read the rest of this entry »
We are about to have a group meeting and I must say that today could not have been more interesting. The two documentaries we watched were two of the most moving films I have ever seen. I really had no idea how corrupt the government of Mexico was and just how terrible the conditions of the poverty are for the campesinos. Read the rest of this entry »
Today we heard a great talk about The Other Campaign (La Otra Campaña). [After that, Martha, a community leader from San Salvador Atenco came and talked about her experiences when they fought to keep their land from becoming the new international airport. Read the rest of this entry »
So tonight I decided to stay behind because my slightly fractured ankle had gotten swollen again and I had to put it up. After playing a few games of speed, I decided to shower. As I was walking in, I saw the BIGGEST cockroach crawling across the bathroom floor. No kidding, it was the size of my index finger! I screamed and called Mireya so she could come kill it and she screamed also. Read the rest of this entry »
Today, like most days here, was fairly intense. Intense in a sense that we are taking in so much new information and being exposed to a world that I never realized existed. The first main activity today was the community visit. The community we visited was “La Estación,” which means “the station.” This area was once part of the train system that ran throughout Mexico, but it was privatized in 1997 and now is no longer active. Basically people have moved into this area and really made it their own community. Read the rest of this entry »
This morning we had some delicious plantains that I just can’t get enough of. After that, we headed to the palapa (hut) to listen to an inspiring talk by Maria Luisa Zaragoza. This lady is truly amazing; she has helped with community development in the pueblo of Cuentepec. She has helped bring training to those of the Pueblo so that they can make pottery and embroidery to sell. Read the rest of this entry »
Waking up this morning, we all ate an amazing breakfast, then we met Sister Kathy in the side room. She discussed to us how the U.S. was corrupt in her opinion and “wasting its tax dollars to treat people to commit murder.” [She was giving a talk to the group about the School of the Americas/WHINSIC.] She then discussed a little about the Iraq war which I extremely disagreed with. Read the rest of this entry »
CLU Alternative Spring Break 2009 - Mexico City 