Skip to main content

Week 3 Part 1

On Tuesday and today, we went out to communities with the food bank! Today's visit was to the community called Francisco Villa. There was a great turn out - 41 families showed up to the meeting. The purpose was to distribute cards to the families that they will need in order to get food from the food bank. The food pickups are organized so that every family does not need to receive transportation to the food bank facility. So, today there was also the nomination of a President, Secretary, etc. for the Francisco Villa food bank community. The president will pick up the food for the community and distribute accordingly (the first pickup date for this community is on August 2nd). It was a great experience to see the people that are directly affected by the food bank. I got to play with some kids while the meeting was going on. It was really funny - I was talking to these little girls while I was sitting down. Immediately as I stood up, the girls looked at me in awe. They started calling me "gigante" and "girafe" as they were blown away by my height. I am really glad that I got the chance to go the community because it makes all that we are doing at the food bank more meaningful.

Something that I have recognized over the past few weeks is the importance of being exposed to different cultures and lifestyles. I have learned so much from the people here in Merida even though I do not always understand what they are saying. The people here are so accepting, friendly, and respectful of others. By experiencing other cultures and people I think that we can become more aware of human characteristics and gain a greater respect for different walks of life. I am so glad that I made the decision to come here - being here makes me want to see and experience the rest of the world. 







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 4 Part 2

Swimming, sand, and sunburns. This weekend we took a trip to Playa del Carmen. This is definitely the coolest thing we have done while in Mexico and I hope to go back for a vacation eventually. It was a four hour bus ride from Merida to Playa del Carmen. The bus ride was one of the highlights however due to the amazing A/C and comfortable seats. On Saturday, we decided to go snorkeling. We found a place that agreed to take us out right then and it ended up being the best decision. We took about a 15 minute boat ride out to a shallow reef area where an abundance of fish were swimming. The fish alone were great, but then, we saw several manta rays. Our guide brought fish with him so we got to feed and pet the manta rays. One of the coolest experiences of my life!

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 ...