Last Day in Tijuana and Reflections

Hola from Kevan and Ella,

This was a new experience in a number of ways as it was the first time that Phil and I were the chief navigators through Tijuana and the surrounding Colonias. Esperanza usually has a long term volunteer who helps groups navigate, but we missed the newest volunteer by a couple of weeks. To our credit we only got lost once and that was on a stretch of road that had changed since the last time we were here and it was at night. The main road to El Centro is named "Cuahlhtamoc Sur ote", so you can see why we had a difficult time asking for directions! 

We offer high praise for the five College of Wooster students who worked with us in the trenches this year.  This is the smallest group we've ever taken to Tijuana and at first we were a bit concerned about our ability to complete some of the significant work that happens here.   We found, however, that we came to know one another better as a small group and learned to work as a cohesive team.  There was never any negativity or dissension among us despite the difficulty of some of the tasks assigned to us.

 Each year, the Friday workday is special because our mission trip concludes with a Fiesta provided by the families that we work with.  We were in  Colonia "Cumbre" where we had never worked in before.  It is a new development in the Esperanza Organization. The Fiesta always includes a "la Leche" cake.  For those of you who don't know what this means, it's an otherwise perfectly good cake made soggy by a thorough drenching with milk. The tradition is that the birthday person has their face pushed into the cake.  On a number of occasions, a "worthy" worker is chosen to be awarded a ceremonial first bite of cake.  When they bend over to taste their cake, someone comes from behind to create a frosting face. 

 A little boy named, Alexandro, celebrated his 5th birthday with us during this special Friday Fiesta.  Alexandro loves soccer so we selected a soccer ball piñata for him and brought him a gift of a soccer ball.  One example of the inclusive hospitality we experienced with this family was their recruiting many members of our group to take a turn whacking the piñata. Alexandros' little  white 6 week old Chihuahua was popular with the workers.  At the Fiesta, his Grandmother joked that his puppy would make good "Carnicitas".  Alexandro didn’t think much of this idea!

Our work on the last day involved pouring a floor.  Some of the challenges involved a very steep wooden staircase which led from the top area where the cement was made to the home area where the cement needed to be poured into a previously prepared frame.  I ended up being the last in the bucket line and poured the cement onto the floor from each bucket.  Ella ended up being the "bucket catcher".  This means that I had to throw the empty buckets about ten or fifteen feet to Ella, who handed the bucket to a neighbor who then threw the bucket back up twenty feet or so to a student waiting on the edge of a mound of dirt.  In the past, marital conflicts have ensued when husbands threw buckets to their wives, but Ella and I survived this experiment without any disagreements, although she slipped on loose gravel twice in the process.  This would be a wonderful marital test for any couple who would like to go with us in the future!  It would be much better than any "Marriage encounter" weekend. 

We also had the nicest weather we've ever had on an Esperanza mission trip.  70's by day and 50's by night which was nice considering the snowstorms in Ohio this week.  La Cumbre colonia is located close to the ocean and on occasion you can catch a glimpse of water from the neighborhood we worked in.  Light fog often wafted overhead.  Wealthy people have bought up all of the oceanside properties but this neighborhood was within sight of large ranches and a couple of very large olive orchards.

Before saying goodbye to Eduardo for another year, we shared in a time of reflection on our experiences over the week and even of the past years that TUCC members have been coming to Tijuana. While we only see pieces of the houses coming into being, we enjoyed hearing stories about families we have worked with in past years and the difference having a secure home has made for their family. It was clear that each of us will be taking home special experiences and warm memories to share with our families and friends.

Kevan and Ella

Friday work and Fiesta

The link below is from our Friday work pouring a floor and fiesta.

Friday pictues

Jueves

Hola!

Today we had a less glamorous but equally difficult job of digging a trench.  I used a pick axe to loosen soil and clay while others removed the dirt.  I was expecting all of our field work to be difficult but I am still surprised by how exhausting it is.  Knowing how much we are helping the communities and families and being able to interact with the families makes all the tedious, hard work worth it.

Last night we visited Casa del Migrante, a temporary home for migrants.  It was amazing to hear the stories of the migrants.  Some had just been deported, some were trying to cross the border, and others were just traveling to other parts of Mexico.  It was such an eye-opening experience.  Our leader, Eduardo, also gave a talk about the border this morning.  I wish these stories could be shared throughout our country.  We learned that most Mexicans don't want to leave their country; they just want to make enough money in the States to lift their families out of poverty.  Many plan to return, but never do.  Many are deported to Mexico.  Many of those deported aren't even Mexican but are just assumed to be.  This causes problems for Mexico, too.

Tonight we had dinner at an Italian restaurant with Eduardo's and Roberto's families.  It was nice for all of us to sit down together after a week of hard work.

I can't believe tomorrow is our last day!  We are pouring cement for a floor on a house we worked on earlier this week.  After work, we are having a fiesta to celebrate the end of our week and the birthday of a boy who will live in the new home.  Today, we picked out a piñata for him.

Buenas noches,
Sarah

March 13th Thursday

Thursday, March 13th

Hi everyone, I'm Tara, a sophomore at Wooster. I am leading the trip this year, after attending last year. The trip is different because we have a much smaller group, but in some ways this makes it easier. For example, we don't have to do huge reflection meetings because we are around each other so much that it's easy for us to share what we thought about our previous activity.

Today we laid the foundation for a floor of a new room in someone's house. We dug trenches around the parameter so that we could lay the rebar inside of them. Meanwhile the other group (from Providence college) worked on bending re-bar with hammers.

We were unable to finish this project, unlike all the other projects on this trip (we are finishing wednesday's project tomorrow). I am still proud of the progress we made though. Sarah was definitely the hardest worker of the day with her pick axing, which I completely sucked at! I will post photos of this building site soon (probably tomorrow).

For cultural activities, we have visited a girls orphanage as well as Casa De Migrante (house of the migrant), where people who have been deported or are planning on crossing the border are allowed to stay for 12 days. At the orphanage, just as last year we listened to the girls as they performed a song in Spanish for us. At the migrant house I had a conversation (in Spanish, so proud) with someone from Modesto, which is near where I live. I learned that after 33 years in the US he had been deported. It was almost eirrie how calm he was about this.

This made me think of something someone said in a reflection circle last year. They had been morally struggling with how nice everyone in TJ is to us, while meanwhile in the US so many Americans are completely rude to Mexicans. Sometimes it just does not seem fair.

-Tara.

Link to all photo albums

Each day we have posted pictures of our work and evening activities.  Below is a link to see all the albums in one place.

All trip pictures

Thursday work and dinner pictures at Giuseppis

Click the link below to see the Thursday work pictures.  In the evening we went to Giuseppis, an Italian restaurant, where our group and most of the Esperanza staff had dinner.

Thursday Pictures

The Migrants

Chelsea again! Three days down, two to go.

Today in Tijuana, we returned to the same community we visited yesterday. It was neat to see some of the same women serving us lunch both days. Esperanza allows the individual communities choose who receives help next and it is time like cooking lunch that can make a family more likely to receive help with their home. This makes the program much more meaningful because people must work together democratically to help their neighbors improve their situation in life. At the site, we did a variety of jobs. Our end goal was to prepare and level a foundation for a cement floor that we will pour on Friday. When we arrived, Rodrigo, or Rigo, instructed us to remove some of their dirt from a rectangular area blocked off by cement blocks. When we finished this task we all scratched our heads when he said to now put a different kind of dirt back into the area that we had just cleared. Not knowing anything about how a house is built or construction, we did not understand why we were doing such a strange thing but Rigo had a plan. One of the most heart wrenching thing to see was the father out there working with us all day long. He works as a security officer for a cable company at night and had only slept a few hours before joining us. Previous members of the trip said this is common, that the men of the households many times feel ashamed that we are there doing something that they should be doing for their family. This particular "hombre" had originally not allowed his wife to join the Esperanza organization because he felt it was his job to provide, despite being unable to. One thing is obvious, Mexicans of all kinds will put forth any kind of effort to better their families or help the hands who are doing it for them.

In the evening we visited Casa del Migrante. By far, this was one of the most informational and moving experiences I have had in Tijuana. This home caters to men who have been deported from the U.S. or have failed in crossing the border into the U.S. They provide services such as medical care, legal consultations, food and much more for 12 days for each migrant. We had the opportunity to learn about the organization from the site director and a long-term volunteer as well as have dinner with the migrants. It was wonderful to hear their personal stories and be able to feel for their hardships they are facing in their current situation. Most of the men we ate dinner with had been living in the U.S. for 10-30 years before being deported back to Mexico. Most of them also have families that currently still reside in the United States and have all of their lives. I learned a lot from these men but I made a personal connection with one of them that struck a personal chord with myself. This migrant had lived in the United States for 11 years with a wife, son and daughter. He was employed as a over-the-road truck driver out of Seattle. My father is also a truck driver and has been my entire life, normally working for 6 weeks at a time with breaks on the weekends. This migrant also had to spend extended periods of time away from his family in order to make more money, more miles means more pay. He made me remember how much I appreciate my father and what he does when he said, "Just remember, your father does what he does for you, to give you the best." I have been told this before but it is always great to be reminded, especially from someone from a different culture and in such a terrible situation where he will probably never see his family again. I asked him if he planned to return to the United States. Many of the migrants in this home will attempt to recross the border illegally. He said absolutely no because if he does he will be sent to jail and then there will be no hope. It was heartbreaking to see him in such a devastating situation with no family, no prospects or real plans for his unstable future. After dinner, we sat down with the director and he informed us more about the problem of migration and relations with the United States. I could write a book about what I heard here but I will end here. My visit to Casa del Migrante opened my eyes to the immigration problem and is pushing me to be a better informed citizen about it. Before I never listened when immigration was discussed in politics but now I hope to listen as well as seek out additional information for myself.


-Chelsea

Pictures from Wednesday

A few pictures from today:

Wednesday pictures

Woo Wednesday: Dirt, Rebar, and Migrants

Hola!

After waking up to a very sore morning after two continuous days of pouring cement, it was off to a new worksite to do something new. In our case, this something new was digging. For the start of the project, we were given a housing foundation full of uneven dirt, which we then had to dig out. After doing this to a certain measure in the ground, we had to shovel the dirt back into the foundation to level it out, needless to say we worked a lot with relocating dirt today. Along with this at our worksite, Hannah Weil, Ella, and me (Hannah Gaul) were given the job of welding rebar without modern technology pretty much. This required us to bend rebar into squares, which took up the majority of our day. To end our working day, we cut thick wire to lay onto the dirt foundation so we would be able to cement a floor on Friday.

In addition to our work day, we also took a trip to Casa del Migrante, a shelter for migrants that have been deported to Tijuana from the U.S. Here, we learned a lot of history regarding crossing the border and migrants from not only Mexico, but Central America and South America too that are just placed in Tijuana after being deported. We also shared a meal with the men who were currently staying at this home. Luckily for Kevan and me, who don't speak very much Spanish, the man we talked to at dinner spoke English quite well. Unfortunately, we did not get to know his name, but he had a incredible story to tell.

The man we talked to moved to the U.S. legally in 1976. He stayed there until he finished all his schooling, and a couple years after, before he retuned to Mexico in 1990. After this he then moved back to the U.S. in 1994, where he established a family, a stable job, and a happy life, until yesterday. He informed us that in the 1990's he received some type of criminal record which he said could have been part of the fact of why he was deported. Yesterday, he walked out of his house, went to work, and got pulled over almost a block from his house in L.A. The officer asked him for his license and proof of citizen ship, and he knew right there that he did not have his proof of citizenship. In less then 24 hours he was deported to Tijuana, and shortly after telling us this story. Unlike most men at the home, he had his parents who just recently retired to Mexico, so he did have family to contact down here. His three children, all girls, were meeting him at the home, and he's not sure where he's going to go from here. If you go back to the U.S. after being deported, you could easily be arrested. Whenever he moved to the U.S. it was completely legal, since he was under amnesty. This story, along with many others, are the ones that make me wonder what our country is really doing when they are deporting the ones who are not causing harm and making a living in our country. The leader of Casa del Migrante also said we are deporting former U.S. veterans that fought for our country in wars. I believe this is one of the biggest defenses of dishonor I've heard of and one of the biggest shames of our country I've heard of.

The trip has been very eye opening overall and truly life changing.

Adios!
- Hannah Gaul

Mis pensamientos de mi estancia en Esperanza (My thoughts on my stay at Esperanza)

Yesterday...I went to the doctor in a local pharmacy which before work with Ella, Kevan's wife and a nurse. We talked to the doctor about my cough and the doctor said I had a very bad sinus infection. Ella found it very interesting and a great experience for her in healthcare outside of the US. The doctor gave me amoxicilin and cough medicine to take one every 8 hours for 7 days. Yesterday, I didn't work much while others were cementing rooms in the house because amoxicilin is very sun sensative and I was dragging all day. Today was completely different at the work site and I was able to shovel sand all morning in the sun and talk and felt more like my fully energetic self. I will still be careful of being in the sun too long and drinking a lot of water but it felt great helping the family and completely being able to work today. 

Today...Work day: I shoveled sand to make cement today for a roof in a new colonia & felt much better. I stayed in the shade and talked a lot with an 8 year old girl and a Mexican man who's named Nacho. He moved cement bags and shoveled cement. He was awesome to talk to and told me we needed 50 bags of cement for the day. We finished at noon after starting at 9a and had a great lunch of tacos with the family. We thanked them and them us before heading to the girl's orphanage. We took pictures (mainly the Providence College students but our group as well), which I don't like because I'd rather just help and know I made even the tiniest difference in someone else's life. Tomorrow, we will be working on Nacho's house. I met his 6 year old son and his adorable 2 month old white chihuahua puppy named Malin. I'm very excited to spend more time with his family, get to know them and help them however I can (in the way they need-like cementing). 

Casa hogar, El huérfano para las niñas, girl's orphanage: It was so much fun playing soccer, tag or trais, doctor y piggy back ride or capuche. An 8 year old girl, Mariana was very attached to me. I played doctor with 3 other 8 year old girls. Doctor is not what we think in the US. 4 of us tangle our arms and legs together while the "doctor" counts to 30 or so and then comes and the people tangled calls the doctor and they come to untangle them. Mariana also did my hair. One older 12 year old, Paula told me there are girls who are 1-16 years old. She was brilliant but didn't know it. All kids were energetic & friendly. They sang to us 2 songs: La Llorona (http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Llorona_(m%C3%BAsica) & Joyful, Joyful (in Spanish). It was beautiful and a great way to end our meeting.

When we got to the orphanage. here, per usual I was la traductora (translator). At the beginning of this trip, I wasn't thrilled with that idea but I've come to come into my own skin with it and enjoy this new leadership role. In helping others through our work in the colonia on the houses, our activities like the orphanage & translating, I have discovered even more how I feel called to live in a Latin (most likely South) American country & teach English/teach in general. Being back in Mexico (after trying to privately tutor in Merida, Mexico after studying abroad in June) I feel so happy. Helping and using my Spanish and being in this wonderful culture makes me feel so happy and truly myself. I am so grateful and happy to be on this trip. 

¡Que Dios les bendiga y estén re-bien! God bless you and hope you're doing very well!  

Hannita

Orphanage Pictures & video - Tuesday evening

The link below are pictures from our visit to the Girls Orphanage tonight.  In addition we've posted a video of the girls singing at the end of the evening.

Girls Orphanage pictures


Video of girls singing

Tuesday - poured a roof and the girls orphanage

Hi - this is Phil Starr from Trinity United Church of Christ - this is my tenth year coming down to Tijuana with Esperanza International.  This is the fifth year that we have had a joint trip with the College of Wooster.  It is really great traveling with College Students.  They are bright,  full of energy and they ask a lot of thoughtful questions.  I find that I learn through their comments and questions.

Thoughts so far:

Each year when we come down here we see improvements - especially in the roads.  There is still a huge difference between San Diego and Tijuana - especially in the eyes of first timers.  We find new businesses opened and previous businesses closed.

Today we poured a roof near the ocean.  Sorry I am horrible with names and even worse with Mexican names so I don't know the name of the colonial.  It is near Eduardo's house (Eduardo is the construction forman here)!!!   It was a 45 cement bag pour.  Our group plus the group who is sharing the Posada from Provident RI along with a lot of the neighborhood.  The work went quick with all the extra help.  The sense of community down here is amazing.   Tomorrow we are going back to the same colonial and digging a foundation.

This afternoon we rested and the college students sorted and bagged the school supplies and the bags that the Creative Woman's group made.  We also received other donations from other church members.  The workers at the orphanage were very appreciative of the donation.  We plan on donating the remaining bags the rest of the week.  Thank-you to everyone who made bags, donated toys or contributed money.

Tonight we went to the Girls Orphanage.   We spent an hour playing with the girls.  We will post pictures shortly and hope to post a video of them singing.  The girls seem so happy when they are playing.   Nice thing about kids are that they universally have fun with the simplest things - giving piggy back rides, throwing a ball or playing tag.

Esperanza is a good organization to work with.  Eduardo, Riggo, Roberto and the office staff make a good team.  We have a lot of fun with them at the worksite all while working very hard.  The staff want us to have a great experience here - as we work together to improve Tijuana.

I'm going to close for tonight - hard to believe that we have 2/5 of the work done.

Phil Starr

Tuesday pictures

Tuesday we poured a roof on a second story house near the ocean.  Below is the link to some pictures.  Tonight we are going to the Girls Orphanage - we will post more later.

Tuesday Pictures

Monday pictures and video

Today (Monday) we poured part of a cement floor in La Masa.  We made 30 bags of cement.

Below is the link to Monday pictures.

Monday pictures



Below is a short video showing how the cement is made and how we move it.

Workday video

Cement and Smiles

Hello family and friends of the 2014 Esperanza Trinity/COW Mission Trip! My name is Chelsea and this is my first time visiting Mexico and serving with Esperanza. I am a junior at The College of Wooster and am majoring in History. At the College, I do a lot of service work with Cornerstone Elementary and the Wayne County Children's Services. It was this history and dedication to service that led me to join this group and travel to Tijuana. Constantly I am reaching out to others in the United States and I am finally getting the opportunity to fulfill a dream of helping out in the diverse world which I live in.

First Impressions
Over the past three days, I have been completely amazed with what I have seen here in Mexico. Tijuana is vastly different from any place I have ever traveled to or seen in the United States. This difference is the level and degree of poverty that exists here. In the States, poverty has many meanings but usually means a lack of funds and resources to support yourself or a family. In Tijuana, poverty is experienced by most individuals and entails this plus deteriorating homes with no roofs and trash filled streets and hillsides. Their levels of poverty and life and much more severe than what we are used to. Every time I look out into the distance in Tijuana, I am still amazed with what I see: thousands of homes dotting the steep hillsides with no paved roads or proper construction. Something else that strikes me is how obvious the massive population and overcrowding is in Tijuana. This is attributed to the hilly landscape. In the United States, cities are relatively flat and have been leveled for habitation. In Tijuana this is not the case because homes are built on the hillsides, exposing themselves and exactly how many there are. I have many thoughts on my impressions of this country but lastly it is the people. The Mexican people are humble, warm, welcoming and many other positive adjectives. Yes they may look and stare at us simply because we are from the U.S. but they will also be the first one to exchange a smile or a joyful "Hola!" More on this next....

Our First Day of Work
What we came to Tijuana to do is assist in the construction of homes for people in the community in need. Last year, Esperanza helped over 800 families. There are many more in need but their efforts make a large impact. Today we poured a cement floor for a lovely single woman whose husband died two years ago. She had been waiting for Esperanza's help for a year and was excited to finally be moving on with her life with a roof over her head. What we did today was mix around 35 bags of concrete and then transfer this concrete using buckets. To put this in perspective, that took about 500 individual buckets that had to be passed up into the home using a well thought out assembly line of volunteers. After all of this work, I will NEVER look at the floors that I walk on the same. Modern technology makes this process somewhat easier with large cement trucks but completing this process by hand for 6 hours was eye-opening hard work. At the end of the day, I was covered in cement (including inside my ears), hot, exhausted and sweaty. But what I gained in the void of energy was an appreciation and knowledge that my hands had helped a woman better her life. She and the other women in the community thanked us with a delicious meal and eternal words of gratitude. She could not thank us enough for our service and we could not thank her enough for her hospitality. The people I met in the community today showed so much gratitude and kindness. In the United States, we get caught up in our busy lives and our cell phones that acts of kindness are many times forgotten and the Mexican people are an example of a group of people who live their lives by caring and being kind to others.


Tomorrow and for the rest of the week we will be going out into communities such as the one we visited today. I hope to continue to grow and be impressed and amazed by the individuals I come in contact with. I'm sure they will not disappoint.


-Chelsea

Primer día del trabajo

Hola a todos! Bienvenidos a nuestro primer dia del trabajo! Welcome to our first work day!

My name is Hannah Weil and I am a senior Spanish major, education minor at the College of Wooster. I am thrilled to be able to use my Spanish and help others this week in Tijuana.
Today started off bright and early with everyone eating breakfast of cereal, oatmeal and coffee around 6:30a-7am so we could go walk around the flea market before starting our first service project at 8:30a. We walked around for a while and we ended up leaving at 10a. We arrived at the house in Colonia (neighborhood) La Mesa we were going to cement the floor of the 2nd floor around 11am. We met the family which included a single women and her dog who is going to use the house to take care of her mom. She was very gracious for our work even before we started. Eduardo, our awesome construction leader, had us introduce ourselves before we divided out work. Moving cement was exhausting but very well worth it. I sat out for most of the day because I was feeling sick (I'm much better now) and got to talk to the women who cooked us a fantastic lunch of any type of taco imaginable. Muy riquisimo (very good!)! They are some of the friendliest and most grateful people I have ever met. I love how everyone in the colonias knows each other and the community comes together for each other. I got to know the women really well and they were shocked I'm a senior (they said I look like I'm 12 and understood me sitting in the shade because of being under the weather) in college. After lunch, the group worked for 2 more hours before we headed back to La Posada to shower, change and relax before dinner of more delicious tacos from our new favorite restaurant, La Taqueria La Gloria.

Tomorrow, I'm hoping to work more and be feeling better! We will be in at another home site to cement the roof. We'll be cementing pros by the end of this week!

Nos vemos pronto! See you soon!

Hannita (as I'm called in México)

Visit to Cultural Center

Also on Sunday we visited the Cultural Center.  We had never visited it before.  It is located right at the place where we either walk or drive across the border.

Cultural Center Pictures

Pictures from the Border Sunday

Last on the schedule today was to visit the USA/Mexican border on the Mexican side in Tijuana.  Here is a link to some pictures:

Border Visit

Hola todos! My name is Sarah and I am a business economics major at The College of Wooster.  I am involved in the investment and economics clubs at school and I am a member of Zeta Phi Gamma.  I have never been to Tijuana before but this is my seventh trip to Mexico, so I had some idea of what to expect.  One initial noticeable characteristic when crossing the border is the poverty.  Many houses are built upon the mountains and are falling apart.  At the bottom of the mountains you see piles and piles of trash.  The conditions improve further into the city.  When we first crossed over the border we saw many people standing near the border waiting to try to immigrate.  Many people have poor ideas of Mexico and think only of possible dangers.  Tijuana is like any city in that some parts are good and others are not so.  I have not once felt unsafe here.  It is understandable for people to be hypersensitive to traveling to Mexico when media only covers the bad parts.  Our director, Eduardo, told us that while we here only of the corruption, drugs, and violence in Mexico, the Mexicans hear only the same of America.  This is one of the reasons I joined this trip.  I believe it is important to travel here and to help our neighbors so we can improve the relations between Mexico and the US.  I believe this country is misrepresented at home.  I love this country because its culture and people are beautiful and rich in so many ways.

Last night we went to a small district called Rosarito for some shopping and dinner.  We've had some amazing authentic meals since coming here.  Today we went to the Cultural Center, downtown Tijuana, and to the border.  Seeing the border was a great and memorable experience.  A very large fence separated Mexico from the US and it extended into the Pacific ocean.  We could see the US border patrol driving around on the American beach.  The fence was painted in many spots with bright colors and phrases promoting peace.

Tomorrow we will go to a local flea market and then to the construction site, where we will work with students from Providence.  I am looking forward to meeting the families that we are helping.

The First Day

Hello everyone! My name is Hannah, I am currently a student at the College of Wooster, and this is my first year doing the service trip to Esperanza. Yesterday, me and seven other of our group members loaded a plane and flew across the country to sunny San Diego, where we rented a van and drove across the Mexican border to Tijuana. Some of us had been here times before, while it was the first time for a few. Since it was my first time to Mexico all together I really didn't know what I was getting myself into, but after being here for two days, I've realized that it is one of the most amazing communities I've ever stepped foot in.

Yesterday, we were introduced to our leader, Eduardo, who has welcomed us with open arms to the country. After meeting, our crew went out and did some general grocery shopping, then went on an adventurous trip to a few cities over to do some shopping and get dinner.

Today, we adventured downtown Tijuana with Eduardo. We made stops at the cultural center, many  souvenir stores, and the United States/Mexico border. It was a nice fun filled day to relax and enjoy before our first day of work.

Seeing the border fence was a great experience for this trip. It is virtually so large that there is no way to climb over it. It is crazy to think of a country you live in as being so against people coming over to it. Looking through the fence, to our country it made me think of something you dream of having on the other side, but it is virtually impossible to get to. The fact that people suffer, and even die to get to this dream is unimaginable.

Tijuana, is an amazing city with amazing people who have been so welcoming since the moment we arrived. What we hear from the news stories of this city have given all of us a bad image on it, whenever it's hospitality is unbelievable. I can't wait to continue on with this trip and make more new friends along the way.

-Hannah

We are here!

This morning we met at the College of Wooster at 4:15 am so we could make our 6:21 flight out of Akron Canton.  Our trip members include 5 College of Wooster students (Tara, Sarah, Hannah, Hannah and Chelsea) plus three from Trinity United Church of Christ (Kevan, Ella and myself).  Thank-you John Muskopf and Kevin Jewell for driving us to the airport.  We flew to Atlanta then to San Diego.  Flights were pretty good - the second one was a little bumpy.

We jumped in our GOLD Ford Van (not white) and headed south to Tijuana.  We had lunch at In-N-Out Burger - which was outstanding!!!  We crossed the Border a little before 1:00 pm California time.  We were stopped by the officer entering Mexico - he wanted to take a look inside a few of the suit cases and one of the boxes of school supplies.

This is my 10th Esperanza Mission trip.  It is amazing how much better the roads and landscape are since I first came down here.  There is still a big difference between San Diego and Tijuana.  A few of the first time trip members really noticed the difference - I'll let them talk more about it.

Each time we come here there are changes.  The Posada is located in La Gloria.  The biggest change we noticed is that there is a new Soriana grocery store across the street from Waldo's. 

We arrived at the Posada and Eduardo and Roberto were outside in the parking lot.   Eduardo is the Construction Foreman/Manager and Roberto is one of the construction guys.   It is great to see these guys again!!!   We unpacked and hung out a bit.  We had our first circle and went over some logistics about the trip.  We then went to the Soriana store and Waldo's.

Once we got the groceries put away we headed south to Rosarito to shop and eat dinner.  At this point we were all pretty tired so our shopping was brief - we basically shopped for blankets and will leave the rest of the shopping until tomorrow.

We ate dinner at El Nido's.  We've eaten here before and their food is really good.   On the way back we got lost for a while - which is not unusual when driving down here.  But we made it back - and I'm pretty sure everyone will turn in early tonight.  We will hopefully post pictures tomorrow.

So far it has been a great trip!  It is always great to see how first time people see the trip.  It is really bringing College Students!

Below are two pictures - we had the marachi band sing to the college students - and a picture of the "Gold" van inside the Posada complex.  Note how green everything is in the picture!  We posted a picture of the 2013 Statistics for Esperanza - and another view towards the courtyard in the Posada complex. 

Phil Starr

Only a few days now.......

The week before the Esperanza trip is always crazy - trying to get ready at work and at home.  In addition I've been in contact Eduardo Reyes, who is the Construction foreman/lead person, several times working on details - I can't wait to get going!

I thought I'd post a link to last year's reflection video:

2013 Trip reflection video


Phil