Guilty Pleasures

Although I talk a lot about my trials with cockroaches and spiders, I have to admit that I have it SO much easier than volunteers in other countries (and other volunteers in more remote locations here in Mexico).  True, a mouse ran right past my feet this week (inside my house), but my fellow volunteer Narcissa doesn't have a flushing toilet and has to heat water for bucket baths in her Mexican village. Thus, in the spirit of full disclosure, I thought I would tell you about some of the best parts of being a volunteer in what others have dubbed "Posh Corps" Mexico (i.e. those things I am extra thankful for here).  

Most importantly, I have access to clean water that only requires the effort of stopping a truck to buy it, and I have access to a variety of delicious foods.  My options are a little limited in my small town but I can still find salads, hamburgers, pizza (served with ketchup packets for some odd reason), mozzarella sticks and delicious tacos.  If I travel to a big city, I can find US-style sandwiches, Indian food, cappuccinos, etc., so I’m not limited to only beans and rice for 2 years (for which I am very grateful).  

Corn dog from a street vendor in Guanajuato? Don't mind if I do!

Subway sandwich in Puerto Vallarta? Why, thank you kindly. 

Perhaps the poshest part of my life is the fact that I have access to internet, and – in an ultra-posh move – Netflix Mexico.  While I don’t have a TV, I’ve still managed to waste tons of time in front of a screen with the excuse that the comfort of watching cheesy sitcoms helps keep me from getting homesick.  Since August, I have wasted oodles of time by watching the following (and yes, I would agree that it might be best if I cancelled my Netflix membership): 

• All current episodes of “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” – season 1 was da bomb!
• All current episodes of “Stranger Things” – the first time I tried to watch this, I couldn’t get past the opening credits as I was convinced there was a creature in the house with me. I tried again later and found that as long as I watched it in the middle of the day, I was good to go.
• All current episodes of “House of Cards” – before I watched the show, I though Kevin Spacey’s accent was super awful but now I’ve embraced it.
• 4 seasons of “2 ½ Men” – I’m going waaaaaaay back for this one.
• 3 seasons of “Friends” – nothing takes you home like the trials and tribulations of Ross and Rachel.
• 4 seasons of “Modern Family” – everybody’s favorite is my favorite too.
• All episodes of “Hot in Cleveland” – for when you want something really cheesy, wholesome and bedazzled (and totally suitable for grandma).
• 3 seasons of “Orange is the New Black” – ummm, not suitable for grandma’s viewing.
• All episodes of “Arrested Development” – Buster is the best.

 See, sometimes I do leave my house and explore my community, including local churches. 

  This lovely stained glass window created the colorful wall art you can see here. 

A sampling of statues in a local church. 

Don’t get me wrong, I partake in brain-stimulating activities that sometimes include other people too, but I’ve definitely indulged in some holdovers from my US life.  Netflix Mexico is not my only guilty pleasure here, although it is perhaps the fanciest.  Other pleasures I at times partake in include the following:

• Cheddar cheese – a friend came to visit from Puerto Vallarta a few weeks ago and she brought me cheddar cheese – which you can't buy in my town – for FREE!  Words can’t express my gratitude and joy for free cheese.
• A thin crust Hawaiian pizza with black olives – there’s a great little restaurant near my house that sells a 3-ingredient, 8-slice pizza for $89 pesos, so twice a month I splurge for a weekend pizza and a warm blissful feeling in my heart.
• Chocolate-covered almonds – these are available in Pepe’s market and even though they are kind of expensive (40 pesos for a bag the size of your palm), I buy them 1-2 times each month because they are delicious and it’s my only source of chocolate.

• Art – I am slowly accumulating artistic items to make my house feel more like home and ensure I have some great items to bring back at the end of service.  Cindy also helped me make some big pieces of art for my house using fabric purchased in Querétaro, simple wood frames made by the local carpenter, and her staple gun.  Art is life people.

 This is my fav - I love this style of art. 

 Once I found a giant, dead moth in the pot. 

Painting by my landlord's wife. 

I think these lovely plant pots qualify as art. 

 Two of four custom-made pieces of fabric art, by yours truly.
Cindy brought me back frames from the US to house my favorite cards from Guanajuato.

I finally found some Otomi designs during a recent trip to Querétaro.  Some day I'll go to Oaxaca and Chiapas for the really good stuff.

• A real bath mat – some friends picked out a lovely, plush bathmat for me at Costco and it’s really nice.  I really thought this was a “must have” when I first arrived, but now I see I could live without it (but why would I want to?).
• Costco in general – The first time I went we had to run through the store because we were using a borrowed card from someone who was on their way to an appointment, but it was glorious. Glorious I tell you!  I bought two different kinds of cheese (one with sheep’s milk!), the softest sheets, the softest towel, the biggest jar of peanut butter, a big box of sugar-free crackers, and A LOT of toilet paper.  Before I arrived, I haughtily thought “Costco has no role in Peace Corps life,” but now I understand.  I’m sorry I ever doubted you Costco – I do need you.
• The time to learn all the lyrics to great songs – thanks to my internet connection, I’ve been able to take more time to actually learn the words to some of my favorite songs.  And I’ve had the time to play them over and over again which I’m guessing my neighbors love.  I know my sisters have enjoyed hearing me sing these on the phone.  These are some of the best that I’ve spent my time on and that I recommend you spend time with too.
• Someone New – Hozier
• Heartbeats – José González
• All I Believe In - Amadou & Miriam and the Magic Numbers
• Tricky – Run DMC (these lyrics ain’t tricky to learn!)

There are other perks to serving in Mexico, such as the really nice air-conditioned buses you can take cross-country (sometimes), finding people who at least speak a little English, the fact that the Spanish language has a lot of words that are similar in English, access to stores that sell things like toaster ovens (you might have to take the bus for 3+ hours to reach such a store but it’s totally doable), and the fact that - should you ever find yourself in a serious bind - a) there’s Amazon Mexico and b) regular Amazon will deliver many things to Mexico.  

 You can't order this longhorn on Amazon but you can see it in Mexico.

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 You can also find art in unexpected places, like this leaf art stamped into the concrete.

So, if you’ve been thinking about joining Peace Corps but aren’t sure you can handle a pit latrine, living without electricity, a bland diet, carrying water for long distances, no access to public transportation, etc., consider Mexico.  You’ll learn Spanish (the second most commonly spoken language in the world), eat delicious food, experience some of the most mega-diverse areas in the world, do important work and have a lot of fun!  And you can finally learn the words to some Run DMC songs, or whatever tunes float your boat. 

Diversity & Inclusion

I recently traveled back to Peace Corps Mexico headquarters to participate in two important events: trainings for the Diversity and Inclusion Network, and a national Volunteer Advisory Council meeting.  I decided to take a sabbatical from my career and join the Peace Corps because of a seed that was planted during Equity and Social Justice trainings I attended at King County.  I jumped at the chance to keep working on those issues with the Diversity and Inclusion Network (DIN) here in Mexico, as DIN’s goal is to “create and maintain an environment that celebrates diversity and promotes self-awareness, social inclusion, and integration among Trainees and Volunteers, and to integrate these values of diversity and inclusion into the work we do at site.”  Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that?

 Church in San Miguel de Allende. 

Diversity - it's good for ecosystems and for society. 

Papel picado on display. 

I’m not going to lie to you, trainings on how to support your peers and be a good ally are energy-intensive and require you to really open up.  On November 8th, election day in the US, we did an exercise where we wrote 6 words that we or others have used to describe us.  We each shared one “bad” word and its story, and then we reframed it in a positive light.  For example, if your word was “pushy” you might reframe that as “strong.”  You would not believe the words and stories that people shared.  You would not believe how personal and powerful they were, how much it bonded us, or how strong and supportive my fellow volunteers are.  You probably can believe there was some crying involved...  

Last week’s training was a reminder that we know so little about the people around us, and what they’ve been through or where they're coming from.  A reminder of the value of diversity in all it's forms and the importance of supporting and standing up for the rights of people being oppressed or discriminated against.  A reminder to be open-hearted and loving towards people, because everyone deserves kindness and respect.

 We ran in to many kind people in the mercado. 

This is an iconic image found all over Mexico. 

This is the most beautiful of churches. 

On the way home, my friend Kyle and I decided to celebrate our amazing fortune to be in Mexico right now by checking out San Miguel de Allende.  If you’ve been thinking you want to visit Mexico and you want to see beautiful architecture, have lots of opportunities for shopping and good food, and you want to be super comfortable/surrounded by plenty of other Americans and Canadians (but not on the beach), then this is the place for you!  The Mercado San Juan de Dios and the Mercado de Artesanias are amazeballs, you can buy a hot white chocolate drink that is heaven on earth when paired with a chocolate-filled churro (and yes, that was our dinner), there’s one beautiful plaza and church after another, and you won’t feel too much like you’re in another country when you pass the rows of retiree mansions above el centro. 

One of the mansions we passed on the hike to the botanical gardens. 

 A perfectly rustic door attached to a huge mansion. 

The most elegant of door knockers. 

Artwork in the window of a local store.  

However, the real gem of San Miguel de Allende is the botanical gardens, El Charco del Ingenio, just up the hill from town.  Sure, you could pay an uber or a taxi to take you there, or you can be tough like me and Kyle and trek up the hill on foot (which then earns you hot chocolate and churros for dinner).  It was a cloudy day, so we didn’t see many people out, but we had a grand time investigating different cacti and other Mexican plants, many of which are rare, threatened or in danger of extinction.  We spent about 4 hours at the park and reserve, hiking into the canyon and then out to the mirador with the most amazing view of the city below. 

View from the end of the garden trail. 

Hiking in the botanical gardens. 

So many cool plants. 

Wall of cacti.

My favorite pink church in the distance. 

We spent a lot of time talking during that trip, carrying on the conversations from our DIN training.  We talked about how the strength of biodiversity in the nature preserve we were exploring was akin to the strength of diversity in our human population (and wouldn’t it be nice if we could find a way for everyone to see that connection).  It occurred to us that a fourth goal of Peace Corps is getting to know your fellow Americans better – and in a different context.  Here in Mexico my best friends from America are all in their early-20s, or they’re retired, and they come from all walks of life.  That’s a wee bit different than my friends back home (not that you people aren’t still young and sprightly). 

Kyle is about the age of my youngest sister and I have to say that getting to know him has really helped me see my sister in a different light and to value her thoughts and words in a different, more positive way (side note: Zoe, I'm really proud of you 💚).  Likewise, Kyle probably would not be spending his weekend with me if we were in the states and I was his 30-something coworker (I can admit that my coolness has limits).  But because my fellow volunteers and I are all doing this thing at the same time together, we’re all peers in a new way.  Turns out that if you surround yourself with people different than you, you are going to be stressed and uncomfortable, but you can also start to see all those things you have in common and to see yourself in them.  This is what I came for: growth and a new perspective.  It was during an equity training in 2015 that I heard the following, which prompted me to join Peace Corps: "If you surround yourself with people who think and look like you, it's a lot harder to understand the perspective of those who are different."  

Kyle in the wild.

It's been a rough month as I struggle with what lies ahead for my LGBTQ friends, for my non-white friends, for my career in the environmental field, for the families of many people I've met here, for my rights as a woman... but I know I'm lucky to be in Mexico right now and that I am blessed to have this opportunity to be a voice for my country and to meet so many extraordinary people.  And, perhaps most importantly, I finally got a nickname everyone can pronounce: just call me Auti (or for my nieces, Aunti Auti). 

Baby Sea Turtle Awesomeness

Remember the first time you went to the beach to help set baby sea turtles free on their life of adventure?  Thanks to some kind volunteers and community members in Nayarit, I can now say yes!  I headed out to the coast for a serious sweat cleanse while helping two other Peace Corps volunteers with their Conservation Week activities and learning about environmental education in Mexico.  

 I think this beautiful tree gives you a sense of the humidity. 

 Welcome arch to beautiful San Blas.

Great kingfisher mural. 

On the way, I had a quick layover in Puerto Vallarta where I immediately started dripping sweat and encountering lots of Canadians.  After traveling to the next bus station (and getting advice on how I really needed to be looking for a boyfriend), I met an older woman who chatted with me while waiting for our next bus.  She works on the beach braiding tourist’s hair and was going to visit her pregnant daughter up the coast.  We talked about if I had any children, why I was living in Mexico, what my work was, who was paying me, what I was going to do in San Blas, if I had found a boyfriend yet – i.e., the usual.  Then she asked me how many years I had been studying Spanish and when I said 7 months, her face had such a great look of surprise, and her praise was so sweet that I honestly started to tear up.  When she randomly pulled a sliver and turquoise ring out of her bag and said that her friend who sells jewelry on the beach gave it to her as payment for braiding her daughter's hair, and did I want to buy it, I said sure.  It wasn't something that I needed but it was lovely, and I thought “every time I look at this ring, I will remember this nice woman from the bus station.”

  Old church in San Blas, which is conveniently located next to..... 

  ...the new church in San Blas. 

 Town center, home to many great stands for local artists. 

There was quite a bit of confusion for my new friend and I when we tried to board the bus as the driver insisted he was not going to the locations printed on our tickets and sent us back inside where the people at the ticket counter insisted he was indeed going where we wanted to go.  We went back to see him and he left the bus in a huff and brought back a man in a sweater (seriously – in a SWEATER in Puerto Vallarta) and he explained that I had to go to Tepic to change buses but could use the same ticket, and the other woman had to get off earlier and then pay 10 more pesos for her connecting bus.  When we finally arrived in Tepic, the bus driver yelled for me to wait and then took my ticket with instructions not to move.  When he returned he said there was no time to spare, but after 4 plus hours on a bus with no bathroom I pleaded for el baño and he said “Ok, but hurry” and then gave me the 5 pesos to pay for it from his own pocket.  I ran to the bathroom and made it back just in time to get on the bus with my fellow passengers, for the last 1.5 hour leg of the trip.

 Jess took me to a fort above town; a soaking wet hike with great views. 

  Old fort. 

  View from the fort. 

 So many palm trees. 

I finally arrived and dropped off my bags at a gloriously air –conditioned apartment and then went to help with a painting exercise with a gaggle of happy, energetic kids.  I’m not one to wake up before 8:30 AM these days so I was really surprised to see how dark (and dripping hot) it was at 5:30 AM when we set off for turtle glory the following morning.  We passed by half of a giant commercial airplane that is placed near the beach as a tourist attraction, walked by the perpetually flooded street, and arrived at the beach to find crates full of uber cut baby sea turtles!  A little after 6 AM we headed down to the water with local children and adults to set those turtles free as the sun rose and flooded the clouds above the Pacific with colors.  Bucket list item completed!

 This is how dark it was when the first turtles were released. 

  Site of our early morning start. 

  You're free little buddies - head for the water! 

  Turtles heading into the surf. 

 Baby sea turtles entering the sea at sunrise. 

 Sunrise in San Blas. 

Afterwards we did a trash clean-up on the beach where we found plastic rings from six-packs, cigarette butts, beer cans, 4 baby diapers, plastic soda bottles, corn cobs and about ¾ of a watermelon.  Gotta give those sea turtles a fighting chance when they return.  Other fun activities included Storytime with a very energetic storyteller who had us impersonate wolves in front of the kids (nothing like howling gringas to make kids really laugh), an activity where kids created notebooks out of scrap paper, cardboard and fun animal stencils, a composting workshop and a screening of “Buscando a Dory.”

  Early morning beach clean-up. 

  Sunrise view during our beach trash clean-up; not bad! 

  Composting workshop. 

 I'm pretty much an expert at drawing apple cores and banana peels now. 

I also heard about the importance of building good relationships to really be effective in your work and saw the strong relationships one of the volunteers had formed after 2 plus years in the community.  Before I left for the Peace Corps, another volunteer told me they thought the people who worked with kids were the happiest, and I can see why she said that.  It takes a lot of energy to be "on" with kids for extended periods of time but they can be so much fun and energize you at the same time.  

  Casa de Cultura. 

  We got to watch this mural progress during the week. 

  Jess took me to Our Lady of the Rosary near the fort above town. 

 Outside old church ruins. 

I returned home after an 11-hour, 3-bus travel day with a few more bug bites than when I left, and a greater appreciation for what the environmental education volunteers do and what kind of challenges they encounter.  Most importantly, I returned to a MUCH cooler climate for which I have never been more grateful.  I will also always be eternally grateful for the opportunity to get to know two other volunteers better and witness my first ever sea turtle release.  Baby sea turtle awesomeness for sure.