IDEALS - Mexico trip
International Development Education and Advanced Learning Strategy
URL: http://ideals.nu
Updated: 48 weeks 1 day ago
Community policing
By Matthew Killby
Feb. 23, 2009
My plan was to sleep in an extra 20 minutes and skip Gary’s walk to get a bit more rest and a chance to work on my journal, which was now two days behind. Instead I slept right through until breakfast.
We listened to a man from Ocotopec tell us about community policing and how it works and differs from the regular police force. Andy asked him if distributing the power to different community police networks fragmented society.
“We are a fragmented country,” was his reply.
Categories: E-journalism
A journey into the mountains
By Matthew Killby
Feb. 23, 2009
I woke for Gary’s morning walk. We travelled uphill and came across a man who had just moved to town a few months earlier. He spoke English and told us about an old rail line on top of the mountain that had been ripped out and was now used as a trail. He likes to take his horse up there. We hiked to the top of the hill and found the biggest tree of the trip. We hiked along the old rail line for a few minutes and got an excellent view of the surrounding mountains and Cuernavaca.
Categories: E-journalism
A squatter settlement called La Estacion
By Matthew Kilby
Feb. 21, 2009
I woke up and got ready for the morning walk with Gary. I was feeling moderately well rested. We walked up and down the streets of the subdivision by the monastery. The sun was just coming up so it made for some good pictures. We headed up the hill outside the monastery and then down one of the side streets. On the hill, wedged in a large ditch between the road and the monastery wall was a small farm. There were some cages made out of various scrap and a building that perhaps was a home, or maybe just a storage shed. There were some goats, a cow, a chicken and a dog. On our way down the side street we passed some workers mixing concrete, which Gary said they would later carry in buckets up a makeshift wooden ramp to pour on the rebar of the upper level.
Categories: E-journalism
Paradise
By Michelle Newlands
Saturday, February 28/09
Options Day!
I spent the day in man-made paradise.
Today we were all given the option of how we would like to spend our day. The majority of the group went to the beautiful city of Tasco while Chrissy, Jill and I went to a water park resort called Las Estacas. We had the funniest taxi ride; our driver let us listen to hilarious up-beat Mexican music and Jill busted out in the front seat. The hour and a bit cab ride only cost us $30 Canadian. We asked him to come back for us at six.
Categories: E-journalism
Lessons about immigration
By Michelle Newlands
We were supposed to meet with a panel of Mexican immigrants who worked in Canada, but unfortunately they could not make it, so we had a group discussion instead. Many Mexicans, including one of the Lopez sons, will go to Mexico for five, six seven months at a time; the work is mainly agricultural labour. Canadian and American landowners will provide transportation and accommodations for foreigners and will pay the workers minimum wage, which in comparison to their homeland, is an amazing salary. This type of work is one of highest main incomes amongst Mexican families.
Categories: E-journalism
An environmental message
By Michelle Newlands
February, Thursday 26. 2009.
We began our day wondering through the most unique cemetery I have ever seen. The graves were all built differently, some out of colourful ceramic tile, some to look like castles and others simply made of cement blocks. Each grave contributed to the character of the cemetery and I had never felt more life in a place filled with so many dead.
Categories: E-journalism
Big box stores can't compete with local markets
by Chrissy Peters
Today was the first day we went on our morning walk at 7 am. Only a few people went because they were still exhausted from the long travel. We saw a local high school and took pictures of some of the buildings around the town. We came back for breakfast which happens at 8:15 every morning. Tortillas with bean spread, lettuce, tomato and cream sauce was served with freshly squeezed orange juice. I don’t think any orange juice will ever taste as good. After breakfast we took a bus into the Market and we were on a mission. We were given a map of the town and split into groups of 3 or 4. We had a list of grocery items we had to bring back to the Abbey and places that we could visit along the way. It was incredible to see how people interacted with each other in the market and I found it quite easy to communicate with them using gestures and the little Spanish I knew. It took my group about 20 minutes in the market and then we were on our way to the small chapel and the Zocalo. We watched the military do a small performance and they had a marching band that Matt had a chance to record. Very interesting and made me a little nervous seeing their huge machine guns.
Categories: E-journalism
First Day
by Chrissy Peters
I have to admit I never thought the travelling to Mexico would have been this intense. I think I slept for about 3 hours since being up at 8:30 on Wednesday morning and arriving in Mexico at the Abbey at Thursday around 5:30 pm. The excitement and not being able to sleep on the plane was the reason for lack of sleep. After we finally got settled in and found out our roommates, we had a committee meeting to find out who was going to keep an eye on health, the steering group and the reflection group.
Categories: E-journalism
Sunday in Chiapas
by Gary Warren
Over 1000 kilometres south of Mexico City, and you would think it would be warmer here. But I am sitting with my Canadian winter fleece on, in front of a fire, and my hands are still cold. The temperature is expected to fall to minus 2 tomorrow night.
Categories: E-journalism
Touring Cuernavaca
By Matthew Killby
Feb. 20, 2009
I was going to go on Gary’s morning walk, but my alarm clock didn’t work so I woke as they passed my window. I showered, and for the first time in my life I turned off the water while I lathered. At breakfast, we were treated to Sopas, a corn tortilla topped with beans, tomatoes and sour cream without the sour. Despite not liking most of the ingredients I ate the whole thing, not wanting to seem ungrateful in a place where food is scarce for so many people. With this thinking, I would actually enjoy most of the meals prepared for me for the next week.
Categories: E-journalism
U.S. issues travel alert for Mexico as Spring Break drawn near
The news is full of this story. As students prepare to go on Spring Break, the United States State Department warning tourists to stay away from prostitution and drug-dealing areas in light of escalating violence in that country. The main focus is on the border area where violence related to a drug war is taking place.
It would be interesting to know what you are hearing in your corner of the country? Are there any signs of this? Are there extra precautions or is this something that is so far away that there is no impact?
Categories: E-journalism
Focus on Change Strategies
By Michelle Newlands
Wednesday, February 25.
I support fair trade. I stand against oppression.
Today it felt as if we travelled in time. We met with women in their traditional dress and slippers in the town of Cuentepec. Their houses had dirt floors and no running water. The washroom was a toilet without a seat and a curtain for a door.
Categories: E-journalism
Understanding activism in Mexico
By Michelle Newlands
After our adventure walk and breakfast some of the young women on the trip sat in the yard and relaxed in the sun as we waited for human rights activist Juan Manuel Zarragosa to arrive. It was a beautiful day, probably the hottest one yet and it was nice to put on summer close and relax for a while.
Categories: E-journalism
Encounters in Mexico
By Andy Sparling
I’ve met some incredible people in the last week. Here are some of them.
Gloria Cruz
Categories: E-journalism
Coming upon some everyday life
By Michelle Newlands
This morning I was tired and I contemplated whether or not I was going to be going on the adventure walk. In the amount of time it took me to decide, my brain was awake so I jumped up and joined the rest. I’m glad I did. It was the most beautiful walk so far and filled with some of the best conversation.
Categories: E-journalism
An adventure walk
By Michelle Newlands
Today we were given the opportunity to see how Mexico looks from the inside.
Categories: E-journalism
“Quanto Cuesto?”
By Michelle Newlands
Today at 7:00 a.m. three of the other girls and I met Gary and set out on the first of many morning adventure walks. We call them adventure walks because Gary says he doesn’t like retracing his steps, which means we explore new directions each time. Gary’s brain should have been drained by 8:00 a.m. when we finished because we didn’t give him a chance to rest it. Between the four of us girls, it was question after question.
“Gary what’s this?”
“What does that mean?”
“Is it true that....”
He knew the answer to every question we had.
Categories: E-journalism
