This is a long entry, and I apologize, but I am playing catch up, so please join in the game!
I am so elated right now in Mexico! I have been received into a wonderful home where I live with a woman, her husband, and her grandson (two years!). We are getting along splendidly so far, and they are adamant about me practicing and learning lots of Spanish. The first few days of full-immersion into Spanish-speaking life were a little tiring, but the results will be astounding after a whole month. I told them that I feel I have all of the knowledge of the language in my head, and I just need to use it and develop it some more...and I will! I am delighted that though my immediate family is small, much of my family lives nearby, sharing different parts of the house, and the house next door.
After mass and jumping (literally) into a parade that was celebrating the founding of our neighborhood, I had the extreme pleasure yesterday to go to Miacatlan (a small, VERY HOT, mostly agricultural town) where my host mom grew up. After cleaning house a bit, we ate a delicious lunch of nopales (grilled catcus) with sea salt and lime, guacamole with chichachron (fried pig skin which is way better than bacon!), cervezas, and of course frijoles y tortillas as we watched caballeros on horseback or with oxen, families, kids on bikes, cars pumping loud music, or the occasional tour bus drive by the house. My mom is a wonderful cook, and we bought raw masa yesterday so I am looking forward to making tortillas y gorditas al mano with her on Wednesday. We visited several family members (with their own families) who still live and work there. Having learned of my love for Mexico and the culture and people, combined with the fact that I am single, my host-family has been soliciting for a novio on my behalf to everyone we meet! The warmth and generosity of my new family is incredible. As I rode out and back in the back of the little camioneta soaking up sun in the afternoon,and taking a nap on the way home last night, I thought: These are the memories that will live on forever. This is the life that I haven't been able to live in Seattle where I am slammed by books, work, trying to keep up commitments and with my own perfectionism. How will I be able to leave all this behind and return to Seattle? I don't think about that to much right now, but I already forecast a strenuous challenge when I return. I finally feel like I fit in in a culture, in a way of life, even though so much of this is new, and so much is different from what I have known in the United States. I feel alive in a way I never have before.
We are now in full swing in our social work classes and I am SOOOOO busy still! Intensive Spanish ended last week, and now I am commuting (though it is short) back and forth, on top of keeping up appearances at the gym every day and trying to squeeze in salsa classes also. Oh, and my mom here is Catholic too, involved in base group communities, natural health remedies, and solidarity with the liberation movements of Chiapas. I know we will have much to talk about once my skills improve a bit more. My life is full and rich right now, and I am strangely not homesick at all, although I do feel badly for missing my mom's 50th birthday party this weekend. Not that I do not love my life in the U.S., not that I do not love school and life in Seattle, but I also love my life here in Mexico. I know that I am truly blessed to be here, truly blessed to have this opportunity to embrace another culture and to become one with another way of life, another extension of a united human family.
I'm sorry if it may be a bit impersonal, but time is limited, and this is part of the summary I wrote for the social work blog that our school has. It is a short summary of some of the life that went on here last week. What was not mentioned for the class blog, was the fact that I, Alysson, actually stayed out salsa-dancing until almost three o'clock in the morning Friday night-Saturday with some lovely young local men that we have befriended! But, when in Mexico: Viva la Vida!
What a whirlwind week! Day-to-day life, as usual for college students, was full to the brim. After the beautiful experience in Amatlan on Sunday, students came back to enjoy the last week together in Casa Verde. And what a week it was.
Students this week buckled down for the last week of Spanish classes at Universal. It was lots of studying, lots of talking, and lots of review. But our class also made a special trip out to Bons Café for a celebratory lunch with our professor! After it was all said and done, the exams, the presentations, the papers, Universal hosted a pool-side barbeque party for the students and staff on Friday afternoon. It was a nice way to wrap up the time spent in the classroom, and surely students will be back for some fun in the sun at the Universal pool. More than anything, students felt a little more prepared to engage in their field placements, family homestays, and the Cuernavaca community.
On Tuesday there was a orientation/class session to prepare for the transition into the four-week urban homestays. The homestay coordinator described some of the history of the area where 12 of the 19 social work students would be living. The students who are not living near us having been placed in areas close to their fieldwork placements, and still are not far from reach. However, the social work students who are living in the Lagunilla community were delighted to hear that they would be living near one another, and would be able to share the bus-rides and cab-drives to and from school or other outings. During the discussion we divided into groups, each which focused on a different topic (i.e. roles in the family) to be addressed to aid the transition. Then one student from each of the four groups represented the topics as a member of the “Panel of Experts” where the information was dispersed and questions were fielded. The picture above shows some of the students on break, about to present in the panel.
Lab group this week provided time to learn about the history of immigration policy in the United States of America. More importantly, each student shared their own immigration story of their family coming to the United States of America by writing a small summary and placing it appropriately on a timeline of important dates in American immigration history. This history was also shared in a group session and later, there was a small group exercise to help stimulate reflection and discussion about different obstacles to and themes of immigration to the U.S.A., both historically and presently. Besides learning more about one another and U.S. policy trends, the students were more aware of the urgency in addressing fair legislation and immigration policy reform. Furthermore, brought to the forefront was the fact that America as a whole is a country of immigrants, and each of us has a family history of immigration.
Besides focusing on our Spanish finals, and trying to enjoy our time together as a large group living under one roof in Casa Verde, we were also trying to prepare for our homestays. The transition is not only back into family life, but also into even more immediate contact with Mexican culture. On Saturday, we joined in the morning to meet our new host-families. We sat and shared a bit of ourselves with one another over breakfast, sharing the basics of our background and expectations and hopes for the experience. Packed into the dining room of Casa Cemal were 19 new families, and yet all together one large family of social workers in Cuernavaca! While nerves may have been heightened as we embarked on a new part of this journey, hopes and enthusiasm were even higher! Each student was warmly received by their new family, who expressed their desire for us to be comfortable, happy, and to learn and EAT a lot.
More than anything, I feel this week has truly been about living in the present, and living life to the fullest. Our history is important; it bears onto reality of today and the decisions for a better tomorrow. However, life is happening presently, and being in Mexico is a wonderful environment for us, as students, to practice the delicate balance that is the dance of life. We are challenged to be present to our studies, to our families at home, to each other as a cohort, to our new families in Mexico, and to the greater culture here. While sometimes it can feel as though we are spread thin, in taking account of the many opportunities and experiences we have as individuals and as a group, I conclude that we are truly blessed to have such rich and full lives.
Peace and Blessing to You All
I am so elated right now in Mexico! I have been received into a wonderful home where I live with a woman, her husband, and her grandson (two years!). We are getting along splendidly so far, and they are adamant about me practicing and learning lots of Spanish. The first few days of full-immersion into Spanish-speaking life were a little tiring, but the results will be astounding after a whole month. I told them that I feel I have all of the knowledge of the language in my head, and I just need to use it and develop it some more...and I will! I am delighted that though my immediate family is small, much of my family lives nearby, sharing different parts of the house, and the house next door.
After mass and jumping (literally) into a parade that was celebrating the founding of our neighborhood, I had the extreme pleasure yesterday to go to Miacatlan (a small, VERY HOT, mostly agricultural town) where my host mom grew up. After cleaning house a bit, we ate a delicious lunch of nopales (grilled catcus) with sea salt and lime, guacamole with chichachron (fried pig skin which is way better than bacon!), cervezas, and of course frijoles y tortillas as we watched caballeros on horseback or with oxen, families, kids on bikes, cars pumping loud music, or the occasional tour bus drive by the house. My mom is a wonderful cook, and we bought raw masa yesterday so I am looking forward to making tortillas y gorditas al mano with her on Wednesday. We visited several family members (with their own families) who still live and work there. Having learned of my love for Mexico and the culture and people, combined with the fact that I am single, my host-family has been soliciting for a novio on my behalf to everyone we meet! The warmth and generosity of my new family is incredible. As I rode out and back in the back of the little camioneta soaking up sun in the afternoon,and taking a nap on the way home last night, I thought: These are the memories that will live on forever. This is the life that I haven't been able to live in Seattle where I am slammed by books, work, trying to keep up commitments and with my own perfectionism. How will I be able to leave all this behind and return to Seattle? I don't think about that to much right now, but I already forecast a strenuous challenge when I return. I finally feel like I fit in in a culture, in a way of life, even though so much of this is new, and so much is different from what I have known in the United States. I feel alive in a way I never have before.
We are now in full swing in our social work classes and I am SOOOOO busy still! Intensive Spanish ended last week, and now I am commuting (though it is short) back and forth, on top of keeping up appearances at the gym every day and trying to squeeze in salsa classes also. Oh, and my mom here is Catholic too, involved in base group communities, natural health remedies, and solidarity with the liberation movements of Chiapas. I know we will have much to talk about once my skills improve a bit more. My life is full and rich right now, and I am strangely not homesick at all, although I do feel badly for missing my mom's 50th birthday party this weekend. Not that I do not love my life in the U.S., not that I do not love school and life in Seattle, but I also love my life here in Mexico. I know that I am truly blessed to be here, truly blessed to have this opportunity to embrace another culture and to become one with another way of life, another extension of a united human family.
I'm sorry if it may be a bit impersonal, but time is limited, and this is part of the summary I wrote for the social work blog that our school has. It is a short summary of some of the life that went on here last week. What was not mentioned for the class blog, was the fact that I, Alysson, actually stayed out salsa-dancing until almost three o'clock in the morning Friday night-Saturday with some lovely young local men that we have befriended! But, when in Mexico: Viva la Vida!
What a whirlwind week! Day-to-day life, as usual for college students, was full to the brim. After the beautiful experience in Amatlan on Sunday, students came back to enjoy the last week together in Casa Verde. And what a week it was.
Students this week buckled down for the last week of Spanish classes at Universal. It was lots of studying, lots of talking, and lots of review. But our class also made a special trip out to Bons Café for a celebratory lunch with our professor! After it was all said and done, the exams, the presentations, the papers, Universal hosted a pool-side barbeque party for the students and staff on Friday afternoon. It was a nice way to wrap up the time spent in the classroom, and surely students will be back for some fun in the sun at the Universal pool. More than anything, students felt a little more prepared to engage in their field placements, family homestays, and the Cuernavaca community.
On Tuesday there was a orientation/class session to prepare for the transition into the four-week urban homestays. The homestay coordinator described some of the history of the area where 12 of the 19 social work students would be living. The students who are not living near us having been placed in areas close to their fieldwork placements, and still are not far from reach. However, the social work students who are living in the Lagunilla community were delighted to hear that they would be living near one another, and would be able to share the bus-rides and cab-drives to and from school or other outings. During the discussion we divided into groups, each which focused on a different topic (i.e. roles in the family) to be addressed to aid the transition. Then one student from each of the four groups represented the topics as a member of the “Panel of Experts” where the information was dispersed and questions were fielded. The picture above shows some of the students on break, about to present in the panel.
Lab group this week provided time to learn about the history of immigration policy in the United States of America. More importantly, each student shared their own immigration story of their family coming to the United States of America by writing a small summary and placing it appropriately on a timeline of important dates in American immigration history. This history was also shared in a group session and later, there was a small group exercise to help stimulate reflection and discussion about different obstacles to and themes of immigration to the U.S.A., both historically and presently. Besides learning more about one another and U.S. policy trends, the students were more aware of the urgency in addressing fair legislation and immigration policy reform. Furthermore, brought to the forefront was the fact that America as a whole is a country of immigrants, and each of us has a family history of immigration.
Besides focusing on our Spanish finals, and trying to enjoy our time together as a large group living under one roof in Casa Verde, we were also trying to prepare for our homestays. The transition is not only back into family life, but also into even more immediate contact with Mexican culture. On Saturday, we joined in the morning to meet our new host-families. We sat and shared a bit of ourselves with one another over breakfast, sharing the basics of our background and expectations and hopes for the experience. Packed into the dining room of Casa Cemal were 19 new families, and yet all together one large family of social workers in Cuernavaca! While nerves may have been heightened as we embarked on a new part of this journey, hopes and enthusiasm were even higher! Each student was warmly received by their new family, who expressed their desire for us to be comfortable, happy, and to learn and EAT a lot.
More than anything, I feel this week has truly been about living in the present, and living life to the fullest. Our history is important; it bears onto reality of today and the decisions for a better tomorrow. However, life is happening presently, and being in Mexico is a wonderful environment for us, as students, to practice the delicate balance that is the dance of life. We are challenged to be present to our studies, to our families at home, to each other as a cohort, to our new families in Mexico, and to the greater culture here. While sometimes it can feel as though we are spread thin, in taking account of the many opportunities and experiences we have as individuals and as a group, I conclude that we are truly blessed to have such rich and full lives.
Peace and Blessing to You All
I am so happy for you. I know the feeling of being so comfortable in life abroad you can't imagine life at home. I miss you so much and can't wait to see you and hear all of your stories :-)
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