Our Last Day in Mexico

Today we went sight seeing. The other schools left this morning and we all feel empty without them. Our first stop was Tzintzuntzan a Tarascan archaeological site. The area is 2,000 years old and the students walked around the grounds and visited a small museum. The Tarascans were never conquered by the Aztecs so their architecture was very different.We then walked down the hill into a small town and visited two small churches and had a picnic lunch. One of the churches was inspired by Utopia and has a long and interesting story. The kiddos then went shopping in a small market and bought some souvenirs to bring home and remember the trip. They were speaking spanish, barganing for a better price and really appreciating the work done by these local artisans after spending a week making some of these crafts themselves.

The next stop was Janitcio, an island in the lake here. It is very steep and we walked up A LOT of stairs to get to the top for a beautiful view. Everyone had a lot of fun on the boat ride there and back. We then returned to camp for the sad task of packing our bags, or hard task depending on how much they bought. Tonight they are singing songs and playing games with Fidel. This is a short post because we return tomorrow night and will ahve a lot of stories to share.

Is It Thursday Already?

Today was the last day of workshops. This morning students finshed making sombreros, painted alebrijes,found Tarascan pot shards and dung beetle nests,completed toothpick sculptures, and medicated chicks and watched rabbits reproduce...just what every middle schooler wants! The reality of the week ending is beginning to set in . The other students at the camp are leaving tomorrow morning and there will be a lot of goodbyes.

This morning our girls took another fantastic hike and challenged themselves to embrace their fears. The came back excited and talking a mile a minute about everything they had seen and done.The boys were left to sleep in which they needed. Some of the boys arrived with colds from Oakland and were generous enough to share...no one is horribly sick.

Last night the entire camp sang happy birthday to Conner in Spanish and English. The women in the kitchen made him a special birthday cake decorated with penguins because they heard he was from Alaska! He was very pleased. Last night they sang campfire songs in Spanish and enjoyed the beautiful night.

The food here has been fantastic and the kids are trying everything. Sasha said this was nothing like camp food in the US. Breakfast this morning was frijoles, papas, and chilaquiles, papaya and grapefruit. Every meal has incredible fresh fruits and vegetables. They also serve pan dulce and doughnuts at every meal as well.

Tomorrow we are sight seeing. We will go to Santa Clara del Cobre and they can see copper artisans at work. We will also visit Tzintzuntzan an archeological site. The people who inhabited this plateau before the Spaniards arrived were the Purepecha or Turascans. They are the only indigenous group the the Spanish did not conquer.

Lila taught the Montessori teachers from Toluca how to braid hair. Maddy and Rachel have been playing viscious games of Blink. Johnny really loves his exploration class . Kate has been a real trooper, she didnt flich when they had to cut the crests off the chickens...it is nothing compared to an opposing futbol team! Alex is enjoying every minute and helped pick a special pig for Ruby in Patzcuaro. Kyle seems very at home here and is speaking Spanish to Tim...just to test him! Out of all the students, Tim has learned the most Spanish.

Wednesday in Eronga

Wednesday in Eronga -

The kids have settled into their routine of workshops and are being more and more open to trying new things. Evan was caught off guard today when lunch presented him with only soup (pozole). But when he came back for seconds, he admitted this is the only soup besides miso that he likes! (Evan's parents, you might want to start finding pozole recipes!) Cassady and Ben are playing lots of soccer.

We've been visiting some of the classes. Yesterday we went to desilado (pulled thread embroidery) and saw Sasha, Camille, Sky, Anni, Kate, Lila and Ruby sitting quietly in a beautiful courtyard, embroidering. We also visited cooking, where Juliet, Maddy, Catherine, Kyle, Kenya, Queen and Marie were making tasty treats out of masa (corn), frijoles (beans) queso (cheese) and salsas. We even got to sample their hard work and it was fantastic. The classes are taught in people's homes in this village and in neighboring villages. The kids are really getting an opportunity to see how people live and to spend time with local people.

The weather has been beautiful! It's been in the mid 80s during the day, low 50s at night with a slight breeze and occassional showers in the afternoon. Nobody is getting overheated or sunburned, but everybody is getting lots of fresh air and excersize. This is a perfect time of year to be here. We've been trying to post pictures but we haven't been able to upload them, so look forward to seeing them when we return.

Every evening the camp has activities for all the campers. Last night they could choose between salsa and storytelling. Every PDS kid chose salsa. We could hear the music and their laughter, they had a great time. In fact, they had so much fun they requested to do it again on Friday night.

They're getting to know the other campers and counselers. Yesterday two little girls came back from town looking for Catherine and Marie with gifts they had bought for them in the mercado. Many of our girls are sporting new braids and hair styles courtesy of Bris, one of their counselors. The fourth and fifth grade boys have befriended our soccer players and are still arguing whether Liverpool is the best team or not. (Our students are not the Liverpool fans...)

Today we are celebrating Conner's birthday. This evening there will be a cake and singing.

Sasha has requested that we let you know how meaningful it is to the kids when parents post comments on the blog.

settling in...

classes have been chosen, kids are cooking, embroidering, studying biology and exploring the town. It is very exciting to see our students begin to mix with the other kids at the camp. Marie has a fan who is three feet high and follows her around, Conner and Cassady were playing a game this morning where (according to Conner) they get to throw balls at little kids. As soon as he said it, a¨ little kid ¨threw one at him and got him out! We are seeing a lot of smiles and hearing more and more Spanish as the days go by. Today will be workshops in the morning and afternoon with a visit to the weekly market.

Eronga is a town of 3000 people so market day is relatively small. What the kids will see arepractical (not tourist) things for sale...a little different from stores in the states. Everyone has been very warm and welcoming to us. It feels like a dream at times. Queen said it felt like a movie set. Lila, Alex, Cassady and Ruby are joined at the hip. It is wonderful to see them all together again. Will and Ben went into town with their counselor and bought journals to write in...Ben had to have a cover with Chivas!

The evenings here are cool but not cold with a lot of activities for the kids to participate in- they can sing, go for night hikes or even go to bed early. Tim is improving in his Spanish, Rachel and Karen are getting by and Beatriz is smiling all the time. We will post more tomorow morning, until then adios.

Workshops Day One

Yesterday we got up late, had lunch and went to Patzcuaro. This is a Spanish Colonial town dating from the 16th century and was under Native Rule for 200 years. We had two hours to tour the town, buy souveneirs and take pictures. The kids went in groups with counselors. They are speaking more Spanish and getting more comfortable with being surrounded by a different language and a different currency.

The other two schools have arrived and the camp is filled with the sound of first through sixth graders, there are 80 of us total. Our kids chose their morning class and afternoon class last night. They will have these classes for four days and are in mixed groups with the other kids at the camp.

The food here is fantastic! The kids (all of them) are eating lots of fresh fruit. This is not like American camp food at all. The kitchen staff are also making quesadillas upon request. The staff here is caring, patient and the counselors are getting to know and enjoy our kids. The kids are already going to their councelors with questions rather than coming straight to us. Some of our girls have already made a friend.

This morning a group of our chicas went on an adventure. They went hiking with a counselor on the outskirts of town. When they came back they described themselves as "badass".

Sky and Camille just passed us on their way to their weaving class and waved and said to say hola and they miss you but are having fun. Queen, Johnny, Will, Ben, and Annalisa are on their way to alebrijes (making imaginary animal sculptures). Queen says hi to mommy and Meme. Michael, in his endless enthusiasm has chosen a Biology class where they will be removing tumors from (NON-poisenous) snakes. Karen would be in this class if they would let her.

the eagle has landed...

We are sitting in Eronga at El Molino basking in the beautiful sun and trying to believe we are really in Mexico. As soon as our plane landed Queen told us all to start speaking Spanish! The kids were great and the trip long ...we did not get to the camp until 6:30 AM. It took a long time to clear immigration and customs and then the bus ride to El Molino. We all tried to sleep as best we could, a few hours here and a few hours there. Beatriz is smiling ear to ear, Juliet is pushing her self to speak Spanish to the counselors even if they speak some English. Camille, Lila, and Sasha were up early and went into town with Barbara ,the counselor, to visit the local church. Breakfast included pancakes, pan dulce, melon, chocolate caliente y otro jugos. The rest of our crew are sleeping like kittens.

Adios Oakland, Hola Eronga

10:14 AM March 21 ...hopefully everyone is packing (or packed) and having a relaxing day before we red-eye it to Morelia (arriving at 3:00AM). We have checked and rechecked our to-do lists and are excited to get this adventure started. We will be flying with 4 -8th graders from another school that are also headed to El Molino so time to start getting to know each other.
Once we arrive in El Molino we will pick up the last member of our PDS crew...just in from Oaxaca! We even brought a PDS read-a-thon tee for her. It will feel great to all be together.
We just got an e-mail from Peter (the camp director) that we will be able to take it easy the first day and do local sight-seeing trips...nothing major. This will give everyone a chance to rest up for the workshops and sight seeing we will be doing throughout the week.
It is one hour later in Michoacan so again with the time change!!!The difference is this time you-all will not have to be the ones dragging these kiddos out of bed in the morning- we will. Not to worry...camp policy is an hour of excersize BEFORE breakfast each day to wake everyone up and get them ready to go, go , go!
We will be sharing the camp with students ranging in age from 1st grade through 6th from 2 schools in northern Mexico. When we get there we will post more info as soon as we can, until then- adios!

before we leave...

...think! What do we need to do next? Can we possibly think of all the possible variations and permutations when traveling abroad with 21 middle school students? Trying to finish up all the last minute details so all goes smoothly. We are all excited and unsure what to expect- even those of us who have been there. Each time you travel it is unique and exciting, but it challenges you in ways you are not necessarily prepared for. An example of this might be...try to set up a blog and hope you can post it from Eronga, Mexico...does El Molino have the internet access???Can we get to this site from ANYWHERE??? Can we post photos???We are hoping we can so we can keep you all posted as to our adventures. This is an attempt/experiment.