Totolapan

Last week we went to Totolapan to see what life is like for people living in impoverished Mexican cities.  This put my traveling experience to Mexico in perspective.  I’ve learned that here at Huehue we have so many privileges.  We were put in a very different environment that made me think a lot about safety, poverty, and available resources.  In Totolapan the air pollution was much more obvious.  In comparison to the Ecovillage there were virtually no trees. The streets were crammed with houses and stores and there were chicken farms squeezed into tiny backyards.  Space was very limited.  Our whole group piled onto the back of a single pick up truck when traveling, something that I would never see in the U.S..  I began to think a lot about different standards of living and about my own cultural identity that was so drastically different from the people of Totolapan.  I also noticed how close the families were and remember that on the first day we arrived Belen, one of the women we met, remarked that they hug frequently.   

On this trip we talked with the local people about immigration, a hardship they were reminded of every day.  Many of the men from this typical Mexican town were forced to travel to the states illegally to make extra money in order to support their families.  The women talked about the pain they felt when the men left and also about the fears that their loved ones may never return.  I learned about immigration on a much deeper level from the real stories they told.

Consensus Process

            The course we are taking here has really empowered me to make changes in my life.  We are learning a lot about being effective leaders and I’ve acquired many skills that I could use in any group setting.  Particularly, we have learned how to run successful meetings that are based on trust and respect.  The consensus process is a realistic way of organizing groups to make decisions.  Last Saturday we presented our service learning project to the Huehue community.  We decided after interviewing community members and holding several meetings that we were destined to make improvements in the garden.  We decided upon criteria and a project scope that were meaningful to us all.  We determined that our budget of $500 would be best spent on a project that would bring the community closer together, be sustainable and ecological, and also educational to us all.  We have finished weeding and cleaning and are now currently putting up shade-cloths over the garden beds.  The decision process was very valuable to me.  I plan to use much of the information and strategies we’ve learned here in the organizations I am involved in back home.  We have had great teachers here that are both patient and genuinely interested in our development.  I have had a wonderful experience and am sad to be leaving in two days!