update on community meeting

Last night, we had another community meeting to officially form the committee for the recycling project and it went really well. The committee signed up and we're now advanzando. I'll let you know how the project turns out.

Meetings, Meetings & Rock Climbing

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

I guess I’m just in the mood to write tonight. I’m definitely not writing for any of your reading pleasure, since I’m pretty sure no one is reading this silly blog because no one sent me any brown sugar. But whatever

Anyway, it’s 7:40pm and I am pooped. I only wish it was later so I wouldn’t seem like a total Grandma going to bed so early, but it’s not later, and I am tired, so here I am settling in for the evening. Did my daily yoga routine, got my movie picked out (Office Space), and did some reading (Little Women), brushed my teeth and put my pjs on, and I am sitting in my bed, typing this and soon to be falling asleep to the movie of the night.

But let me tell you, why on this lovely Wednesday evening I am so tired. Where should I begin? I guess let’s begin on last Friday, when Lindsay, Mindy and I traveled to Tlaxcala for a regional meeting of Peace Corps Volunteers. We spent the weekend there discussing Peace Corpsy things and on Sunday we got to go shopping for blankets and rugs – beautiful!! Got back late Sunday night, and to the office Monday morning. (We usually just go to the office on Mondays and maybe one other time during the week, since our work is mostly focused in our communities). After that, we went to Pachuca to fit in some internet time, and I had an impromptu Spanish tutoring hour. Peace Corps is giving us a little money to take more Spanish lessons, so I figured it couldn’t hurt. I’m starting to think it is for sure going to hurt. I love this country and I love Spanish but after like 10 years of classes and study abroad and more classes, I am sick of learning it. Tuesday, I woke up early and went back to Pachuca to meet the local YWAM staff (if you don’t know what YWAM is, look it up.) which was great, and I don’t know how much I’ll be able to help there with PC faith sharing regulations and such, but I am beyond excited that there is a base here! Yay! People that believe what I believe! Sweet Jesus! And then I rushed back to Carboneras to teach English, and then rushed home to prepare for a community meeting that I led about our recycling center project. Yeah… I thought it would be a nice cute meeting about how we were going to clean up the community and have some kids collect bottles and paint a nice little building to collect the recyclable trash… I was wrong. Only about 12 people showed up, and even among those 12, there was unbelievable division. They want to make this a business. As a PC Small Business Volunteer, believe me – I understand this completely. But are you serious?! You want to make a business from something that will pay like 1 peso (like 8 US cents) for a whole kilo of plastic bottles?? Unfortunately I couldn’t defend myself or the project well with my limited Spanish and apparently I even told a guy that I agree with him, when I definitely do not. It seemed to end okay though. We agreed to let everyone think about it for a few days and to have another meeting on Friday, where we hopefully will get people committed enough to take responsibility of the project and not just voice their opinions. I like this recycling project idea and I am excited about it, but the Park gave us this project; it wasn’t our original plan. During the meeting I felt like the guy from “Clerks” – “I’m not even supposed to be here today.” So that was Tuesday. Today, I was able to blow off some steam rock climbing. It was awesome. There are moments when I’m hugging the rock 100 feet in the air wondering why the hell I put myself through this, and then I climb up, repel down, and I want to do it all over again. I’m obsessed. And now, I’m tired.

I don’t think I’ve really filled you in on my work projects. So here’s a quick update:

1. I am teaching English to 12-15 year olds on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Secondary school in Carboneras (like middle school). It’s wonderfully challenging and keeps me thinking and planning all the time. And I was asked yesterday to teach in another nearby town as well, so might do that too.

2. Recycling center: The goal of this is to gather enough interested people in the community to raise support from the park office to build and manage a small recycling center. I’ll be contacting different companies to come and collect all the trash, and some companies do pay for the recycled goods so the community will have a tiny financial benefit as well as a clean community.

3. Guide book: this is still in the brainstorming phase, but Lindsay and I plan on putting together a comprehensive guide book of the entire municipality and the park including campgrounds, hotels, restaurants, and tourist activities.

4. Susana’s restaurant: Susana is my host mom and I really want to help her build and run her own little restaurant. It’s always been her dream and right up my alley so I really hope I can figure this one out.

If you are reading this and you have any advise about any of my projects, please email me. I’ll take all the wisdom I can get.

That’s all for now. Life is good in Mexico and getting busier everyday, which is great. Come visit and see this beautiful country. And let’s go climbing!!