Blogs from Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, North America - page 7

Those of you who know me realize that being on time is NOT exactly one of my strong points. The whole concept of operating under “Mexican time” was pretty appealing to me… One thing I didn’t count on however, was just how much time it takes to maneuver in a city that has little or no access for people with disabilities. One of the organizations I will be working with throughout this year provides services and job-skills training for people with various physical handicaps. Every morning, I catch the Route 5 bus from my home and make my way to Calvario church downtown. From there, I wait in the dark early morning for the ALEM bus to arrive. (ALEM is the title of our organization, and it stands for Autonomía, Libertad en Movimiento, or Autonomy, Liberty, ... read more

From Chiapa De Corzo we dropped down from the hills into a vast and hot frying pan of a plain to an overnight stop in Cintalapa. A gentle climb out into the hills the next morning was topped off with a gorgeous downhill roll through protected forestland with glimpses of the Pacific Ocean far below. We emerged in Oaxaca state, on a coastal plain, and took a bus to avoid a stiffling slog along a flat and busy road. The following day saw us back on the bikes and heading for the hills once again. As we climbed, the woodland was changing; thinning and drying out - tall, thin candelabra cactus spiked the hillside and later, crops of agave cactus crept into the scenery. We passed mezcal factories - at first just a few wooden vats ... read more

Que tal todos? Yesterday I took a stroll around the city center after saying goodbye to the other volunteers who took the bus back to Miacatlan. I went to the Cathedral, Jardin de Borda, and two other churches near the center. Then I walked for an hour uphill thinking I could walk all the way home. On the bus it's a 30 min ride from the center to my house, soooo walking made me realize just how far I live from the center. I got a good work out though! This next weekend is the anniversary of NPH. It's the 50-something anniversary. All the kids here in Cuernavaca will be bused to Miacatlan and we'll celebrate there. Also, even more exciting than my cultural walks and the anniversary, Steven (my boyfriend in case you didn't know) ... read more

Hola mi familia y mis amigos, It’s quite depressing to write half of a blog entry and then have your computer shut down, and poof…it’s gone. Sooo…here is my second attempt to give you all a RSVOARLLU (Really Short Version of a Really Long Life Update), however I'm giving a fair warning that there is a 99.9% chance that this is going to be a RLLU (Really Long Life Update). O where to begin...? Thank God for antibiotics. They became my best friend after a week of being ill, and my life is back to normal! Well kind of. I moved to Casa Nolan (my permanent residence) and the other volunteers moved to Miacatlan to take on their positions as caretakers for the younger pequenos. It was sad to see them leave, but when they get ... read more

Dance lesson #2...featuring my new friends, Roy and Rebecca from San Diego :-)... read more