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