Nathan, Isaiah and I arrived in Cuernavaca, Mexico on Monday. Nathan is leading a service learning trip here, so Isaiah and I thought we'd tag along. :) Great time of year to be in Mexico, I have to admit. It wasn't hard at all leaving behind the many feet of snow and the below zero temps. I'm sure it will be hard to get on the plane to go back.
Cuernavaca is a city of about 1 million people and is about 2 hours southwest of Mexico City. We are staying at a retreat center in the mountains here about 20 minutes from downtown. It is a beautiful location and it overlooks the giant city. In the distance we can see Mt. Popo (an active volcano) and the mountain range...this morning Mt. Popo was covered in snow; I guess it is winter here afterall.
Tuesday was our first day learning about the communities here. We spent time at a squatter settlement where families live on government land, but own their shacks. This means that at any point, the government could kick them out and they will become homeless. Scary for many of the families as at any time they could lose their home. Later that day we had a woman speak to us about what it was like to grow up in Mexico and try to find work that would pay her a decent wage. She also shared how she longed to go to school, but her family didn't feel it was important and therefore did not want to invest the money. Later in her life she went on to open a little store and was taught by her children how to keep the books and read! Currently she is doing community organizing throughout Cuernavaca.
Yesterday we started our day by going on a "quest" with small groups. We were given a days wage of 50 pesos and a grocery list. Our task was to take our 50 pesos and see how difficult it was to buy a few groceries on this wage. We took the bus downtown and visited some different sites such as the Zocalo (center of town) and the Cathedral built in 1525. It was amazing to see just how expensive things were, especially considering that the "minimum wage" is 50 pesos a day (equivalent to about $5). Very interesting experience. Last night we hear from a historian who teaches at the university in Mexico City...very intelligent man who shared a lot of background in the hour that he spoke. Gives us all a better understanding of the background of Mexicans and where Mexico is likely to go from here.
Hope to post pictures soon after we get back to MN. These computers don't have a slot for our SD card, so will have to wait. Stay wam and I'll post more soon. Paz!
Cuernavaca is a city of about 1 million people and is about 2 hours southwest of Mexico City. We are staying at a retreat center in the mountains here about 20 minutes from downtown. It is a beautiful location and it overlooks the giant city. In the distance we can see Mt. Popo (an active volcano) and the mountain range...this morning Mt. Popo was covered in snow; I guess it is winter here afterall.
Tuesday was our first day learning about the communities here. We spent time at a squatter settlement where families live on government land, but own their shacks. This means that at any point, the government could kick them out and they will become homeless. Scary for many of the families as at any time they could lose their home. Later that day we had a woman speak to us about what it was like to grow up in Mexico and try to find work that would pay her a decent wage. She also shared how she longed to go to school, but her family didn't feel it was important and therefore did not want to invest the money. Later in her life she went on to open a little store and was taught by her children how to keep the books and read! Currently she is doing community organizing throughout Cuernavaca.
Yesterday we started our day by going on a "quest" with small groups. We were given a days wage of 50 pesos and a grocery list. Our task was to take our 50 pesos and see how difficult it was to buy a few groceries on this wage. We took the bus downtown and visited some different sites such as the Zocalo (center of town) and the Cathedral built in 1525. It was amazing to see just how expensive things were, especially considering that the "minimum wage" is 50 pesos a day (equivalent to about $5). Very interesting experience. Last night we hear from a historian who teaches at the university in Mexico City...very intelligent man who shared a lot of background in the hour that he spoke. Gives us all a better understanding of the background of Mexicans and where Mexico is likely to go from here.
Hope to post pictures soon after we get back to MN. These computers don't have a slot for our SD card, so will have to wait. Stay wam and I'll post more soon. Paz!
