Hola! I'm Ariel and this is my first trip to Tijuana with the Esperanza group. I am a junior at the College of Wooster majoring in History. This week has been eventful-full of surprises and adventures. I spent the whole week at the same site and enjoyed getting to watch the house progress over the course of 5 days. I made quite a few friends this trip- both human and animal. Traveling in foreign countries presents a number of interesting contrasts to the United States; one of these is the presence and treatment of animals. I have always been an animal lover and seeing so many strays wandering the streets definitely tears at my heart a little. I'm aware of the number of diseases that stray animals can carry yet that rarely stops me from picking them up and giving them a little love. The animals were everywhere, including the worksites. One day, as I held one cat, another girl assured me that it had fleas and I sassily responded that it surely did not have fleas. It was too clean and happy looking to have fleas. Duh.
Two orange tabbies greeted me at the site on Monday. They were both were boys and had stubby tails, an uncommon practice in the U.S. They spent most of the day lying on the tops of the cinder blocks while I slaved away. No surprise- they came around during lunch and meowed and purred when I pet them and I (maybe) gave them a tiny piece of my food. Each day they appeared around the site as I worked and I was always comforted by their presence. Our last day at the site was full of emotions; we helped a family complete a house to live in, saw a very pregnant dog give birth to 10 puppies, and I said goodbye to my tabby cats. My memories in Tijuana will always be of the people we helped and the small bond I made with my furry little friends.
Showing posts with label College of Wooster. Show all posts
Showing posts with label College of Wooster. Show all posts
Friday, March 15, 2013
Puppies!
Hello, my name is Kristen Sween, I'm a Junior at The College of Wooster, and this is my second time volunteering with Trinity UCC in Tijuana.
When I told my friends this year that I was going back to Tijuana for spring break, they all told me to "be careful," and "don't die." Surprisingly, my parents were super relaxed compared to last year, they didn't seem worried at all like they were before, but my friends definitely had negative things to say about Mexico. This seems so crazy to me because I studied abroad last semester in Scotland for 4 months, and not once did anyone tell me to be safe - instead, they were really excited for me (even though I was almost hit by a train in Berlin, and I ran into some creepy characters in Poland). Now, I know that Scotland doesn't have the reputation that Tijuana does, but I did everything all by myself. It's interesting to think of the different reactions I received. I was in Europe for 4 months, and only in Tijuana for 7 days. I realize that it's what we hear about Tijuana in the news that makes people so nervous - but honestly, (as Rachel D. says) people make it sound like a warzone here, which is actually ridiculous. The most danger I've been in here is the chance of getting hurt at the work site. I've honestly felt more unsafe in parts of Columbus than I have in Tijuana.
One of the first nights in Tijuana, Eduardo told us that his son was considering going to high school in the US. Eduardo shared that, as a parent, he's very nervous about sending his son to America for high school because he hears all about the school shootings that have been happening. Though I didn't voice it, I became defensive - yeah, we have a problem with that lately, but it doesn't happen everywhere or all of the time. Then I realized that the generalizations that Eduardo made about our country are the same generalizations that we make about his country. Does Tijuana have a drug problem? Yes. Does that mean that everyone is involved? No. In America, we don't hear about the positives of Mexico - we only hear about the guns, and the violence. So, we assume that all Tijuana is is guns and violence. All Eduardo hears in his news about America is about the gun issues and school shootings. Is that all America is? No. There are many amazing things about the US, and should Eduardo write it off just because of the recent violence? No. So why do we write off Tijuana?
We leave tomorrow, and I'm definitely excited to see my family but I'm also sad to leave. In Tijuana, the sense of community, the love for each other, and the compassion for life that the people have is incredibly refreshing to be around. Tijuana makes me realize that the boys, the homework, and the "drama" that I complain about to my friends at college is really, reallyyyy pointless. The material items don't matter to me when I'm in Tijuana. I really love the person I am when I'm here, and I'm hoping I can continue living with this attitude when I return to Ohio tomorrow.
Also, the pregnant dog at our work site had her puppies today! There were ten of them when I left. Definitely the best way to end this week!
When I told my friends this year that I was going back to Tijuana for spring break, they all told me to "be careful," and "don't die." Surprisingly, my parents were super relaxed compared to last year, they didn't seem worried at all like they were before, but my friends definitely had negative things to say about Mexico. This seems so crazy to me because I studied abroad last semester in Scotland for 4 months, and not once did anyone tell me to be safe - instead, they were really excited for me (even though I was almost hit by a train in Berlin, and I ran into some creepy characters in Poland). Now, I know that Scotland doesn't have the reputation that Tijuana does, but I did everything all by myself. It's interesting to think of the different reactions I received. I was in Europe for 4 months, and only in Tijuana for 7 days. I realize that it's what we hear about Tijuana in the news that makes people so nervous - but honestly, (as Rachel D. says) people make it sound like a warzone here, which is actually ridiculous. The most danger I've been in here is the chance of getting hurt at the work site. I've honestly felt more unsafe in parts of Columbus than I have in Tijuana.
One of the first nights in Tijuana, Eduardo told us that his son was considering going to high school in the US. Eduardo shared that, as a parent, he's very nervous about sending his son to America for high school because he hears all about the school shootings that have been happening. Though I didn't voice it, I became defensive - yeah, we have a problem with that lately, but it doesn't happen everywhere or all of the time. Then I realized that the generalizations that Eduardo made about our country are the same generalizations that we make about his country. Does Tijuana have a drug problem? Yes. Does that mean that everyone is involved? No. In America, we don't hear about the positives of Mexico - we only hear about the guns, and the violence. So, we assume that all Tijuana is is guns and violence. All Eduardo hears in his news about America is about the gun issues and school shootings. Is that all America is? No. There are many amazing things about the US, and should Eduardo write it off just because of the recent violence? No. So why do we write off Tijuana?
We leave tomorrow, and I'm definitely excited to see my family but I'm also sad to leave. In Tijuana, the sense of community, the love for each other, and the compassion for life that the people have is incredibly refreshing to be around. Tijuana makes me realize that the boys, the homework, and the "drama" that I complain about to my friends at college is really, reallyyyy pointless. The material items don't matter to me when I'm in Tijuana. I really love the person I am when I'm here, and I'm hoping I can continue living with this attitude when I return to Ohio tomorrow.
Also, the pregnant dog at our work site had her puppies today! There were ten of them when I left. Definitely the best way to end this week!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
My first impressions, thus far
Hello everyone my name is Jackie O’Dell, this is my first
year on the trip, and I am a Senior at the College
of Wooster Tijuana
in that I took a separate flight which got changed multiple times causing me to
have to walk across the boarder.
Walking across the boarder was not what I expected. Caren, Jill ,
Jordan Tijuana .
They did not check my passport, look at me, or stamp my book. I was never so
thankful to see a familiar face (Rena) and she took me to the van which we took
to the posada.
First impression of the posada is simply beautiful! The
flowers, court yard, and bright colors, pictures do not do it justice. Over the
past few days I have many observations of which I will list.
- The poor plumbing means that you can not flush toilet paper and therefore you have to throw it away. Gross at first, but you get use to it.
- At the work site on Monday there were Esperanza people and male community members. These men seem very sexist. The women had to go bend wire while the men build the siding to the house. The next few days were better at the other work site where the community members that came to help were women.
- The juxtaposition between the landscape and the homes is gorgeous. I think this is the most beautiful place that I have ever visited!
- Traffic signs are more of a suggestion than a law. This became frightening yesterday on our way to the work cite. As we were looking at a giant statue of Jesus, a semi came within two inches of side-swiping us, causing us to scream “Jesus.” The moment was much funnier after we were safely on the highway.
- The people here are amazing. The care deeply for their community (which can be seen when they come over to help) and when we speak of why we are here to strangers, they thank us on behalf of their country.
- At the orphanage we made bracelets with the little girls. One in particular was less than two years old. She made me help her with her bracelet which had to be every other color (pink and purple). Then she taught me some words in Spanish. She was so smart!
- Final
thought/story. We went to the deportation house today. This is where those
sent out of the
Thanks for reading, I hope it wasn’t too long. ~Jackie
Fun at the Orphanage
Tuesday evening the group went to the girls orphanage to play. We are posting 3 videos:
Play video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D4ZTBlSBHE&list=UU91HaoDuJbuEte300Fy1ShQ&index=2
First Music video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gss8VntwUWQ&list=UU91HaoDuJbuEte300Fy1ShQ&index=1
Second Music video
Play video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D4ZTBlSBHE&list=UU91HaoDuJbuEte300Fy1ShQ&index=2
First Music video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gss8VntwUWQ&list=UU91HaoDuJbuEte300Fy1ShQ&index=1
Second Music video
Monday, March 11, 2013
Overview of the First day of Work
Hola from Tijuana!
My name is Alex Dereix and I am a junior at the College of Wooster originally from Centerville, Ohio. This is my first time on the Esperanza trip and as well as my first time to Mexico. Every moment we are here, I am amazed by the colorful sights and the festive sounds of this beautiful country. This morning we woke up bright and early and headed down to the street market to buy fruit and fetch freshly made tortillas before starting our work day. After having met Eduardo, the volunteer coordinator, we divided into groups and headed off to the various work sites. Our group went down to help build a house, and get the structure established before pouring the cement roof in on Friday. The sun was out, and after lathering in sunscreen multiple times, I still think that half of us got sunburned. This was surely different than the snowy Ohio we flew out of three days ago!
This experience has been eye-opening and has given me a different perspective. Something that I will really take away from my time in Tijuana is the appreciation everyone has of community and the trust instilled in our fellow neighbors. I hope to remember the importance of family connections when I get back to the States; knowing that the most important part of life are the people, rather than the things, we chose to surround ourselves with. Even though we are only three days into this experience, this is much needed to give me a chance to see another part of the world and learn to step back and re-evaluate how I approach situations on a day-to-day basis. I am so lucky to have the chance to work on this project; I hope everyone else can have a similar opportunity.
My name is Alex Dereix and I am a junior at the College of Wooster originally from Centerville, Ohio. This is my first time on the Esperanza trip and as well as my first time to Mexico. Every moment we are here, I am amazed by the colorful sights and the festive sounds of this beautiful country. This morning we woke up bright and early and headed down to the street market to buy fruit and fetch freshly made tortillas before starting our work day. After having met Eduardo, the volunteer coordinator, we divided into groups and headed off to the various work sites. Our group went down to help build a house, and get the structure established before pouring the cement roof in on Friday. The sun was out, and after lathering in sunscreen multiple times, I still think that half of us got sunburned. This was surely different than the snowy Ohio we flew out of three days ago!
This experience has been eye-opening and has given me a different perspective. Something that I will really take away from my time in Tijuana is the appreciation everyone has of community and the trust instilled in our fellow neighbors. I hope to remember the importance of family connections when I get back to the States; knowing that the most important part of life are the people, rather than the things, we chose to surround ourselves with. Even though we are only three days into this experience, this is much needed to give me a chance to see another part of the world and learn to step back and re-evaluate how I approach situations on a day-to-day basis. I am so lucky to have the chance to work on this project; I hope everyone else can have a similar opportunity.
A Great Community
Hola!
This is Sarah Laper and I am a junior at the College of Wooster and this is my first time in Mexico. So far it has been a great experience.
The first time I asked my mom if I could go to Tijuana, she said no way. Luckily, I finally convinced her to let me go, but she was still hesitant. Today we met Eduardo who works with Esperanza and was helping us at the work site. He said that the US news about Mexico makes him sad because he loves his country and US news makes it look so bad. Also, the news makes it look like everybody is trying to get to the border and into the US but that is not true, some people want to stay in Mexico, he is one of them. Eduardo's son can go to school in America but he doesn't want him to go because Eduardo can't go to America and also he has seen a lot in the news about people bringing guns into school in America. Just like my parents did not want me to go to Mexico, Eduardo does not want his son to go to America.
I have only been here a couple of days but I've noticed that there is a great sense of community here that is different than what we have in the States. Yesterday, we went to a birthday fiesta and everyone there acted like they were part of one big family. They were all so nice to us, they loved when we all sang and danced together. I felt very welcomed even though it was the first time I was meeting everyone. Today at the work site, a bunch of family members and neighbors came and helped us work. We were digging a drainage ditch for a retaining wall and both family members and our volunteers dug and passed buckets of dirt side by side. The daughter, Lucia, wanted to help and I thought the buckets would be too heavy for her but she insisted on wanting to be part of our bucket brigade. When someone shoveled dirt onto my pants, I didn't even notice, but she reached down and brushed them off for me. Even though I didn't speak the same language as Lucia or the other family members, a smile goes a long way and I had a lot of fun working today.
This is Sarah Laper and I am a junior at the College of Wooster and this is my first time in Mexico. So far it has been a great experience.
The first time I asked my mom if I could go to Tijuana, she said no way. Luckily, I finally convinced her to let me go, but she was still hesitant. Today we met Eduardo who works with Esperanza and was helping us at the work site. He said that the US news about Mexico makes him sad because he loves his country and US news makes it look so bad. Also, the news makes it look like everybody is trying to get to the border and into the US but that is not true, some people want to stay in Mexico, he is one of them. Eduardo's son can go to school in America but he doesn't want him to go because Eduardo can't go to America and also he has seen a lot in the news about people bringing guns into school in America. Just like my parents did not want me to go to Mexico, Eduardo does not want his son to go to America.
I have only been here a couple of days but I've noticed that there is a great sense of community here that is different than what we have in the States. Yesterday, we went to a birthday fiesta and everyone there acted like they were part of one big family. They were all so nice to us, they loved when we all sang and danced together. I felt very welcomed even though it was the first time I was meeting everyone. Today at the work site, a bunch of family members and neighbors came and helped us work. We were digging a drainage ditch for a retaining wall and both family members and our volunteers dug and passed buckets of dirt side by side. The daughter, Lucia, wanted to help and I thought the buckets would be too heavy for her but she insisted on wanting to be part of our bucket brigade. When someone shoveled dirt onto my pants, I didn't even notice, but she reached down and brushed them off for me. Even though I didn't speak the same language as Lucia or the other family members, a smile goes a long way and I had a lot of fun working today.
Mexico Sweet Mexico
Hola!
My name is Rachel DeLuca and I am a Junior at The College of Wooster. This is my second year with Esperanza and this year I am the student leader for the trip. Last year I had a fantastic time so I felt that it was important to make sure that more Wooster students came on the trip this year. I love Mexico so much because it makes me very happy. The people here are so genuine and special. Volunteering is an important part of my life and the work we do in Tijuana is life changing for everyone involved. Today our group split up into 2 groups. One crew worked on digging a 5 cement block deep footer for a house foundation and then other group worked on preparing for a roof to be poured. On friday, our entire group will be at this second site helping with the roof. We think it'll take about 45 bags of cement!!! If you don't know construction lingo, this is a HUGE amount of cement, but we can do it! The rooves we usually pour here take about 10-12 bags of cement. I was at the site digging the footer and we had a great time listening to Mexican music and completing the job. The job site had a beautiful view of the ocean and rolling green hills. After a hard day of work, we all returned to the posada and had a quick warm shower. After relaxing a bit at the posada, we headed to our favorite taco stand for dinner. Muy delicioso! (Very delicious!) Now it's time to head to bed so we can be ready for another day of hard work tomorrow.
All the best from Tijuana,
Rachel =)
My name is Rachel DeLuca and I am a Junior at The College of Wooster. This is my second year with Esperanza and this year I am the student leader for the trip. Last year I had a fantastic time so I felt that it was important to make sure that more Wooster students came on the trip this year. I love Mexico so much because it makes me very happy. The people here are so genuine and special. Volunteering is an important part of my life and the work we do in Tijuana is life changing for everyone involved. Today our group split up into 2 groups. One crew worked on digging a 5 cement block deep footer for a house foundation and then other group worked on preparing for a roof to be poured. On friday, our entire group will be at this second site helping with the roof. We think it'll take about 45 bags of cement!!! If you don't know construction lingo, this is a HUGE amount of cement, but we can do it! The rooves we usually pour here take about 10-12 bags of cement. I was at the site digging the footer and we had a great time listening to Mexican music and completing the job. The job site had a beautiful view of the ocean and rolling green hills. After a hard day of work, we all returned to the posada and had a quick warm shower. After relaxing a bit at the posada, we headed to our favorite taco stand for dinner. Muy delicioso! (Very delicious!) Now it's time to head to bed so we can be ready for another day of hard work tomorrow.
All the best from Tijuana,
Rachel =)
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