Yesterday I arrived with my Bethel group in Mexico. The moment that the plane landed, I could tell that we were definitely not in America anymore. I have never felt so out of place in my life. Not only do I not speak the language, but I do not look anything like the people here. (I have not seen a single blonde haired person...) We caught a bus and rode to Cuernavaca where we have been ever since (and will be for the next two weeks). Cuernavaca has about 1.2 million people. The QUEST program is up on a hill on the very edge of the city.
The building where we are staying is the guest house of the QUEST- Mexico program. (If you're interested, here is the website of the program- http://www.quest-mexico.org/ ) It was started by a man who travelled to Mexico from Canada almost 30 years ago to participate in a program similar to this. He loved it so much that he came back the next year and has stayed ever since. He founded this program that explores social justice issues, along with much, much more.
At the house we have dorm style rooms, 3 DELICIOUS meals a day, and there is a classroom where we have learning and discussions. The house is painted bright colors like most of the houses in the area. Our house is green and yellow, but others in the distance are orange and purple. We like to go and relax on the roof of the house and there is a pool up there as well, but the water is FREEZING. Everything is just really open, we have doors on our bedrooms, but that is literally the only place where there are doors.
Today we had our first experiential learning experience. We went to what is called La Estacion or The Station. Summed up, it is pretty much a bunch of shacks that were built around an old train station when it closed down. Gerardo (our leader) said that 6,000 people live there. Their houses are built with old train ties, tin, and cement. Many of the houses just have one room and are very small. Often between 6-12 people live in one house. This was really eye opening and powerful for me. These people have so little. They live in poverty; yet they are so happy. Not just fake happy, but they are truly geninuely happy. We arrived there and divided up into two different groups. Each group had a translator and each went into two different houses. We met the women who lived there and just had a conversation with them about their life, families, and cultural observations.
Tonight there will be a speaker coming to the QUEST house who is a domestic worker and she will share her life story with us. Tomorrow we will do a simulation in the city, which I'm really excited for!
Please comment or feel free to send me questions on facebook! I'd love to hear your thoughts or answer your questions!
Miss you ALL! :)
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