Skip to main content

Week 5 Part 2

This weekend we took an excursion to Celestun, located about 1.5 hours from Merida. Celestun is famous for their wild flamingos that live throughout the lakes there. We took a tiny boat out to see the flamingos. In addition to seeing the flamingos on the boat ride, we also got to see some beautiful plant life. We went through some swampy areas where the trees totally enclosed us. We also got to jump in some "agua dulce" and swim for a bit. Apparently there are usually alligators here, but we didn't see any. After the boat ride we went to lunch on the beach and relaxed on the beach for awhile. It was a great weekend - we are super glad we decided to make the trip out to Celestun.

Going into our final week in Merida we all have a mixture of feelings. We are all very excited to go home, to have a shower head and some good weather. But, it will be bittersweet. It will be hard for me to say goodbye to everyone at the food bank. I have learned to love everyone there and have gotten to pretty close to some. One thing that I have learned about the people in Mexico is that they care about everyone and do not judge others. They are willing to give practically anything to make someone else happy.






Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Week 5 Part 1

This week at the food bank has been the best one yet. We have gotten to be great friends with the nutritionists that work in the office. They always want to have conversations with us and ask all about the United States. They love comparing the US to Mexico. They are amazed by the times at which we eat our meals - we told them we eat breakfast at around 7, lunch around 11-12, and dinner at 5-6. They could not believe it - they eat their meals much later here. When I walked into the office yesterday I immediately heard one of the nutritionists, Deni, call out my name. I walked back to where she was sitting along three other nutritionists and she proceeded to ask me if I run and what sports I play. It was really funny because it was so random, and for some reason she just wanted to know my exercise habits, not those of any other volunteers! The nutritionists are so much fun and love asking me questions in Spanish, watching as I struggle for an answer. On Monday, we presented the Days f...

Week 2 Part 1

Happy Fourth of July! The food bank this week has been pretty uneventful until today. On Monday we worked with the collaborators and sorted bread, beans, and sugar. On Tuesday we worked on going through the deliveries from the stores. This included many gross things including busted containers of bleach and rotten juice. But, it was cool to talk to different people and learn more about how the food bank works here. Today however, we talked with one of the supervisors named Miguel. He explained that when the new food bank opens in around a month, they want to provide classes for those who are receiving the food. He wants the classes to be about health topics and is really open to ideas. He wants us to plan and provide the material for these classes! So, over the next couple of weeks we will be planning and thinking about topics that will be helpful to the people in Merida. We plan on creating powerpoints and other materials to help. Miguel says that these classes will be a requirement...

Week 6 Part 1

It is our final week at the food bank. We all have mixed feelings this week, but, we have been very productive because we need to get everything done before we leave the food bank. So, this week I have made classes regarding teen pregnancy and diabetes. We have pretty much finished it all up - we have 15 classes ready for the food bank to use. On Friday, our last day, we will give a presentation to everyone at the food bank about our experience over the last six weeks.  Today we went out to the new food bank (which will hopefully open within the next month). We went there to clean. It ended up being really fun - the three of us from BYU went along with the French volunteers and another volunteer from England. I was designated to wash all the windows because of my height. Apparently, the bank has been open to the forces of nature. I found several geckos and insects. When I saw the first gecko, I hurried to pick it up and show the other volunteers. It was hilarious because the Fre...