Why You Should Visit a Peace Corps Volunteer

My friends Nancy and Tim recently came to visit me, which was awesome!  Any other volunteers half-way through their service will understand the value of and pure excitement generated by visitors from the US (especially when they’re people that you love :).  They stayed with me for four nights and I was able to show them several different aspects of life in my little Pueblo Mágico.
  

Exploring a local treasure in town.

 Touring some small towns in the hills above my pueblo.

I was also able to share with them many of the unique noises that dot the landscape here.  What kinds of noises, you ask?  

• Los huetes – these are essentially loud, booming fireworks without colorful flares that sound like a rocket is exploding - very close to you.  They are used in rapid succession during religious celebrations, often starting at 5:30 AM and going into the wee hours of the night.  
• Church bells – If you’re sitting in the plaza when they start ringing, it’s like you are one with the bell (and it's possible that you may lose some hearing).  If you are anywhere else in town, you will know that it's time for mass, because the sound of a church bell really carries.
• Roosters – I was naively under the assumption, pre-Mexico, that roosters only crowed at the break of dawn.  Nope.  They crow all day and all night, and I can find no discernable pattern from day to day.
• Water and gas trucks – I’ve become accustomed to the loud jingles but it was great to have someone else here to play the game of “is that a water truck or a gas truck? It sounds like an electronic cow is mooing, so...... that'd be the gas truck!" 
• Off-road vehicles – there aren’t a ton of these in my town, but when they come through, you know it.  We got to pinpoint the source of a loud engine noise while enjoying beverages on a rooftop deck and watching a dune-buggy-type-vehicle roar past.   
• Music – there’s an event venue about a block from my house and I can frequently hear very loud music playing for hours at a time during the weekend.  Nancy and Tim got to experience a full on banda celebration with music from about 3 PM to 12 AM, with tunes so fast that we all had to ponder how those musicians were still standing and how people were dancing at that pace.
• Car announcements – I was oddly happy that Nancy and Tim got to experience having a car drive by with a loud speaker on top announcing that next weekend there’s going to be an optometrist in town.
• Dogs barking - less than a week after my last blog post, which talked about the neighborhood dog barking, my visitors got to see and hear that dog as well.  Along with several others in the middle of the night. 
• Birds – there are all kinds of great birds in my region and while hiking on an 11 km walk to the local lake, we got to hear lots of different songs.     

Rooftop dining - that's the hill we climbed in the background.

Cross at the top of the hill.

Visiting a lovely church in a mountain town.

Nancy and Tim enjoying some delicious mango ice cream with my friend Sonia and her husband.

The end of our 11 km roundtrip hike, where we encountered many birds.

Also at the end of our hike - the world's largest mocajete!

We hiked to the top of El Cerrito de la Cruz where we could hear every single noise being generated in the city below – all at once.  Imagine if you will, a cacophony of roosters, water truck jingles, music from outdoor parties, church bells, announcements from trucks selling fruit, loud car engines and a crazy strong wind.  We were all laughing at the amount of noise at the top of that hill, and every other noise we encountered, because sometimes laughing is all you can do!  We also laughed while traveling with some local friends to visit three different neighboring communities, exploring various colorful churches, having brunch with my friend from Belgium, teaching my weekly English class and sitting in the plaza people-watching while listening to those church bells. 

Nancy and Tim were great sports about all the new experiences, modes of transportation, noises and foods!  They tried birria at a counter in a local mercado, my standard quesadillas with veggies, the chayote vegetable, two different kinds of local ice cream, papaya, the Jalisco version of gorditas, mole, hamburgers and more.  They were also willing to slather on sunscreen for daily adventures, and to pass a Sunday afternoon navigating tons of religious tourists in the local tianguis.

Eating birria in the mercado. 

Dinner of champions at my house.

Vendor swatting away flies from his table of nuts and sweets.

Rolled guayaba - a local delicacy that we did in fact eat.

Goldfish crackers AND M&Ms from the US?!!!!

I cannot express enough thanks to my friends for both coming to visit me and for bringing me a bevy of awesome gifts from the US.  If you have a friend or loved one serving in the Peace Corps, GO VISIT THEM!  You will have a great time, get a unique view into a different culture, and you will bring that volunteer so much joy.  If you haven't made it to Mexico yet, come on down!  I recommend a visit in September or later, after the rainy season, but you're welcome anytime.  I promise to show you some beautiful sights, provide a fan to keep you cool and to ply you with tasty food.  Plus you'll have my eternal thanks, and that's worth the trip alone, right?

Meet My Office

There are lots of different types of sites for volunteers in Mexico.  Some volunteers are placed in big cities in very structured office or university environments, while others are in tiny pueblos working with people in their yards on projects that they design themselves.  I’m kind of in the middle: I’m in a city that doesn’t qualify as rural, but we have horses walking down the street and all community news is shared via a car with a loudspeaker on top.  I work in an office but it’s a pretty laid back office without a lot of pomp and circumstance, and I generally have the freedom to create my own work plan.  When I first arrived at site, Cindy – the other volunteer here – told me how lucky we were to be here as this was her second site in Mexico and a vast improvement over the first.  The more time I spend here, the more I know that's true. 

Old church, just outside of town. 

 More of those ubiquitous horses. 

Local landscape. 

I had a good feeling during my initial site visit when I saw my boss wearing Birkenstocks and two male coworkers with visible piercings.  I thought “alright! I can break out my sandals and not worry about hiding my tattoo all the time.”  I started off emailing my boss with the title “Estimado” but he squashed that right away and told me to use the informal “tu” form with everyone.  I generally try to come and go around the same time every day, but I have a lot of flexibility and can leave whenever needed to take care of errands or go for a long lunch or take a full day for the doctor or immigration office in the closest city.  In summary: it’s a great office full of really kind and interesting people.  If you're lucky, you will come visit me here and get to meet these people in person.  In the meantime, allow me to introduce you to my team. 

Some of my office mates, lounging during a dancing horse competition. 

Enjoying a BBQ at my office with some local community members. 

Santiago: Santiago is the official “boss” in my office and he's wicked smart.  He speaks Spanish, English and French, he has the world's smallest handwriting, and a calming energy when he talks to you.  He has been incredibly supportive of any idea I have and is always telling me that whatever I need, they’re there to help.  He lets me talk to him about everything from my sadness at learning that another volunteer was going home early to my plans for the weekend.  One time we were at lunch and I was talking about something that I was really interested in and he grabbed my arm and said “There! There is it is! Your passion – bring that all the time Autumn!”    

Santiago with a local community member. 

Noe: Noe is one of those people who brings light into the world with a big, warm personality.  He waxes poetically about the importance of finding emotional ways to connect with the people here, and is always reminding you that the beer in Mexico is really weak in comparison to European brews, so drink up!  He’s been my best teacher for learning colloquial and slang words and is passionate about making a mark.  He also helped me move all of my furniture into my house.  One day he asked me if I wanted to be a person in the system or a person of change.  No pressure, but there’s only one correct answer for that question.   

Noe - rocking all the best accessories. 

Fabricio: Fabricio is a caballero who has the best laugh ever.  Every time I hear it I smile because he’s a big, tall guy with this great high-pitched giggle that's a wonderful contrast.  He's a great dancer who carries several small black and white photos of his wife in his wallet and loves horses.  He also frequently has new leather goods with the project logo on display, including belts, cell phone holders and signs to carry in parades.  

Fabricio - with the most beautiful horse. 

Alma: Alma likes things orderly and clean, which makes her a-ok in my book.  She’s also a caretaker: when she heard that I only had two plates and two bowls, she brought me two more of each.  If you need butter, she will buy you the good stuff in Guadalajara over the weekend.  She is an amazing cook and often shares her lunch creations and homemade hummus with us.  As the only woman who is actually employed by our project, she holds her own and keeps things running smoothly, and she’s always ready to help you with your Spanish (like how to properly pronounce the word "mango").

Alma also has some really awesome, colorful sneakers.

Poli: Poli always flies into the office rearing to go somewhere in el campo (usually far out in el campo) and you’re always invited.  One time I went with him and didn’t get to use the bathroom for 7 hours which was just about more than I could handle, but it was still really fun to watch him connect with people and share his wealth of knowledge.  A retired teacher, he now works with us on best practices for sustainable agriculture and leads a lot of community workshops.  No matter how tired you are when you get back, you always return with new knowledge (and frequently with a full belly thanks to the kindness of people in el campo).

Ing. Poli during a late night workshop. 

We also have several consultants working with us for extended periods of time, and there are nice things I could say about all of them as well.  I can tell you who constantly kicks me under the table, who types really loudly, who likes to sing ABBA and Linda Ronstadt songs out loud, and what each one of their phone ringers sounds like.  I know all their habits because for 11 months, I shared a conference table as a "desk" with anywhere from one to six of them.   

There are only two good chairs at the conference table so I used to arrive at the office extra early every day to make sure I got the chair that the office bought for me and to claim a good spot at the table (where the front door or other people weren’t likely to bump into you).  I finally put a sticker on the chair with my name on it, which sounds a little kooky, but I tried sitting in a hard, plastic chair all day, and it was not conducive to, well, anything joyful in life.  I'm not a confrontational person but if you take my chair, I will ask for it back.  I mean, it does have my name on it....  

My beloved chair - and the only soft chair that doesn't tip over backwards or drop you on the floor (i.e. we need more good chairs). 

Our new group desk. 

And then, last week, the unthinkable happened – a new three-pronged desk arrived!  I could not believe I was finally getting my own desk!  A few days later I came into the office to find another coworker sitting in my chair, at “my” desk, even though there was another desk open.  And with that, the dream of my own official desk died.  I’m trying to look at the bright side: at least now we have more work space for people and chances are I won’t have to sit within kicking distance of anyone now (seriously, I got kicked a lot).  I was contemplating putting my pictures and stuff on my desk to officially claim it as mine, but one of my fellow volunteers told me that I was already acting a little crazy putting my name on my chair, so instead I’m just going to talk to my office about buying at least one more good chair.  My morning anxiety would be greatly reduced if I at least knew I would not have to either ask someone to leave my chair or find myself sitting in a plastic chair all day. 

Despite the desk drama, I know how lucky I am to be working with the team in my office.  My grandma has said for years that she would love to be a fly on the wall watching me work, which is surely a testament to how much she has needed more activity in her life.  The majority of my work life has been spent in front of a computer or engaged in meetings, so I never really saw a lot of appeal in her proposal, but she probably would enjoy being a fly on the wall here.