BIG WEEKEND

It was a full weekend, that's for sure. Get ready for a long post with lots of pictures.

Friday: Grito de la Independencia at the daycare

Some of the cuteness. Marichul and her little bro, Father Hidalgo (we had three dressed up), and Aldo

 

Posing with the teachers. (L to R) Mari, Cinthia, Flor, Donna, Sofi, Diana, Erika, Ana, me

Rina (volunteer), Nesvi, little Ignacio Allende (Alan), and Vero

 

Volunteers. Rina, me, Andreas, Alice, Gabriel. "This is the first time volunteers have ever dressed up for El Grito!" Donna remarked in passing.

To celebrate El Grito de la Independencia (the shout which marked the beginning for Mexican independence from Spanish colonial rule), we all gathered in the main square to shout Viva Mexico! among other things (view the video here). Many of the children didn't quite get what exactly was going on, but it was fun all the same, because after shouting we had snacks of all kinds (pork skin two ways, pretzel-like sticks, potato chips, jello) with horchata.

In the evening we had another celebration of El Grito for church. It was a potluck with everyone bringing something to share, and everyone showed up in some version of Mexican dress or the colors of the flag (red, white and green).

Some pictures snapped by Rebeca. We played musical chairs.

 

Rebeca, me, Megan, Ana

 

Saturday: Guanajuato

On Saturday the volunteers and I left the house at 6:30am to walk to the bus station in the drizzling rain for an 1+ ride to the town of Guanajuato.

 

Snapshots of the city.

 



Guanajuato is much larger than San Miguel de Allende, and actually, there are a lot less Americans there, which is kind of a relief. It's a bit less tourist-y. Not every store sells the same overpriced "authentic" Mexican artisan wares. As Laurita would say, Guanajuato has much more variedad.

Don Quixote. Guanajuato has a theater dedicated to Don Quixote! Posing with Andreas and Alice.

La Pipila. We took a tram on rails up to this lookout, and right after taking this photo it started down-pouring. Gabriel, me, Andreas.

 

Since it was Gabriel's last weekend, we definitely made the most of the 10+ hours we had in Guanajuato! We visited the main Teatro (built in the 1900s and restored in 2004/2005), went to the Diego Rivera Museum (where he was born and lived seven years), went up to see the statue of La Pipila (legend and hero), walked all the way to the Mummy Museum (almost gave up half way there because there were so many stairs and hills), found the callejon de besos (where a small crowd gathered to cheer couples on who were kissing there?) and finally, exhausted, ate dinner at a restaurant famous for their enchiladas. Apparently it used to be an aquifer for the rainwater runoff, so you feel like you're in a bomb shelter. But the enchiladas rojas were delicious!

 



 

Alice, Andreas and I will be returning to Guanajuato in October for the international arts festival, el Cervatino. We have tickets to see a group of musicians from Veracruz that play traditional jarocho music. Since we've seen basically everything there is to see in Guanajuato, we'll probably take it much easier this time around.

 

Sunday: Grito de la Independencia

Sunday was the "big show" in the jardin (the main square in San Miguel de Allende). In the Volunteer House we had a potluck, with each person cooking something to contribute to dinner. Gabriel made mojitos two ways with chile relleno. Alice and I made nopales (cactus) and arroz rojo. Andreas made potato pancakes and beef. It was a feast! And Donna was so nice as to make us cinnamon buns for dessert.

 

At 9:00pm we left the house hoping the downpour would subside, but it just kept raining. None of us had rain jackets and Alice only had an umbrella for one. The jardin was crowded with lots of young people, although there was an older man that was so drunk he couldn't even stand up. It reminded me of my days working in Pioneer Square. We ended up ducking into a Thai restaurant/bar of all places and popped back out to watch the fireworks. It felt so dangerous because they let them off literally in the middle of the entire crowd. It looked spectacular, though! The rain really killed it. The bartenders blamed it on the hurricanes. Ugh.

 

Monday: Desfile

Monday was the parade to commemorate the Mexican independence movement. Students from schools in the area participated, wearing their uniforms and marching behind their banda de guerra (the drum lines were so cute! And there were a lot of female percussionists!).

 

 

The parade lasted for more than an hour, concluding with a tour of the firemen, police and national guard.

 

Lots of celebration, don't you think? Well, back to work now! Viva Mexico!



Old Friends and New

I had just left the house and was walking to the daycare with five of the other volunteers when all of a sudden I heard a little voice shout out "¡ABRIL!" I looked to the left and there was a small girl, wearing a uniform beneath a checkered apron, as all kindergarteners do. Her hair was in pigtails and I couldn't for the life of me figure out how in the world she knew my name.
 
Then I saw her mom and it all clicked for me. "No sé si te acuerdas de.." ("I'm not sure if you remember..") she started to say to me as I broke out into a grin. "¡Martita!" I exclaimed, "¡Ya eres muy grande!" ("You're so big!") Marta was in Male’s class when I was interning back in the day. Her mom would tell me that when they were on the bus to go home together, she’d see me walking in the street and tried to yell out to get my attention. In this picture taken in 2010 she is the furthest to the right.
 
It was so nice to see a familiar face and to be greeted after all this time; it just warmed my heart. "¡Adios!" she cried as she ran off with her mother and younger sibling following behind.
 
With small interactions like that I begin to feel that even though I have been away for three years, not everything has changed. Last Sunday I went visited the Vega family’s (Evangelina, Alberto and Laura) church which is called “Amistad Cristiana.” It’s an evangelical protestant church, and was packed out with at least 300 people. After church they invited me to their home in Manlanquín and while Laura (~14 years old) and I talked about our favorite books and movies and how we get annoyed by the frivolity of youth group meetings, Evangelina made salad and enchiladas verdes. As we ate we talked about the culture of Catholicism in San Miguel de Allende, the adoration of saints, and the reason Evangelina and Alberto chose to change churches.  

Andreas, Melanie, Sheila, me, Rina and Zelina at La Posadita restaurant.

On the work front, it’s been a pleasure spending time with and getting to know the volunteers. Some I really get along well with, and it’s sad to say goodbye. But I appreciate whatever time I have with them. It is energizing being around such big-hearted people.

Sometimes I get worried about my job because I’m afraid that we won’t be able to raise enough money through volunteers and donors to remain operationally viable. We rely completely on both to stay afloat. I just need to trust.

Happy Friday, Everyone!

Back

Whew! First week of work and life is very, very good. So far it's been enjoyable and pretty effortless. As Volunteer Coordinator, I get to interact with lots of different kinds of people: the volunteers (duh), the teachers, the children--it's definitely not boring. It's a challenge to have to switch gears between English and Spanish constantly, but thankfully the staff are really forgiving when I stutter out simple phrases that may not even be grammatically correct.

 

On Monday, Vero (one of the mom's-turned-teachers) was so kind as to invite me to her house, which is actually quite close to the daycare, and we chatted about the past few years while her children Marta, Juan Pablo and Richie watched "Bob Esponja" (SpongeBob Squarepants). Marta and Pablo come to the daycare after school (around 1:30pm) and hang out. Richie is still very young and is in Maestra Diana's class.

 

It's so different being a part of the staff at the daycare versus being a volunteer. We had a staff meeting on Monday and most of it was talking shop about very detailed issues (such as installing curtains on all of the doors and feedback on the cooking). I've met all of the other teachers before except for one, and they've all been welcoming as I figure out my job. It was good to catch up with them and ask about their kids, who are now much bigger than when I saw them three years ago!

 

I've also been able to reconnect with families at the church that I knew back in the day. The Vega family has invited me over to their house tomorrow afternoon. If you recall, Laura is the young girl (she's probably, like 16 now!) I went to see Despicable Me with at the mall three years ago. I bought her a sticker book of minions as omiyage; I hope she likes it.

 

Living in the Volunteer House has been very good! We only have six in the house right now, with two leaving in the next few days and another four arriving next week. There is a sense of camaraderie among us. Many of the short-term (one-week) volunteers want to jump right in and explore the city every single night, while the more long-term volunteers come home and lie in their beds in silence, building up stamina for the weeks ahead. One thing is for sure: at the Volunteer House, there's always someone to do something with!

 

Me, Sheila, Melanie and Laura

It's kind of a miracle but I haven't had stomach spasms yet! Maybe the bacteria from three years ago is still alive? Anyway, it's definitely a relief.

Was washing my clothes by hand yesterday in the sink and got a bit nostalgic just by the smell of the detergent, and the act of squeezing shirts dry to hang them. It just feels good to be back!