Ciudad Guzmán: My New Home

Ciudad Guzmán

The last public blog I posted here is dated August 21st, 2010. Before leaving the states to live in Mexico I had scoured the internet looking for blogs of volunteers in Mexico to gain a better understanding of what to expect. Enlarge the blogs I found, like mine here, discussed life leading up to departure and then stopped or at the least became very few and far between afterwards.

I now think this may be because, during training especially, that feelings about the experience here change from day to day making it hard to capture in words. The 3 months of training entailed long hours and were an emotional roller coaster for the entire training group of 40 people.

It is my hope that now I am in my service city of Ciudad Guzmán for the next 2 years that I can settle in and contribute more to this blog.

Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco:

It has been just over two weeks here in this beautiful city of Ciudad Guzmán. The weather is warm, and very much like my previous home in the State of Florida. At best a light sweater is needed during the evenings, and very warm during the day.

When I first arrived I was nervous about being placed with a new host family, but within 48 hours I felt right at home. My host mom has her own catering business, is taking classes to become a professional chef, and is the most amazing cook. Each day there is a new food dish to try out! The host stay here is for a 1 month period and I have been searching for my own apartment. It has been difficult searching for a place, but I think I have narrowed it down to 2 possibilities and may be able to move out by next weekend. My initial nervousness about living with a new host family has changed to a feeling of comfort and now I have a nervous feeling about living on my own! However Rob Ferguson was correct on his advice to me on my final evening in Querétaro, he said "that the only way to grow is to move out of ones comfort zone". He is a wise man.

My work is in the national park adjacent to the city. I will be assisting in many projects there dealing with their water systems (potable, wastewater, stormwater, etc) but my interest has been really sparked on a project involving capturing water using fog collectors. The park has a reforestation project that is limited in capacity by the available water for cultivating juvenile trees. This is a new system for me and I have been scouring the internet for information. Unlike the city, the park mountain is very cold; this ex-Florida boy will need time to adjust!

We celebrated Thanksgiving with several other volunteers and some new friends. It turns out the turkey was from Virginia, and we all joked that it had over stayed its visa here in Mexico and paid the price with its head.

Here are few more photos of my wonderful new home and friends:

View of national park from the city at dusk:/>

View of the (my) mountain:

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Mi familia nuevo:

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Thanksgiving 2010 - Mexico Style:

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The city:

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First Night With My Host Family

August 21, 2010 - Queretaro, Mexico

It was an exciting and nervous day for our group, me included. Today we left the safety of the Castillo and went into Queretaro proper and toured the Peace Corps offices. Later we met our host families for the first time and went to our new homes as individuals, away from the support system of our group of 39.

My family is terrific. Marta, my new adopted mom, her two hijos (sons) Joel and Alvaro, and her sobrina (niece) Luce, live here.

Joel, Alvaro, and Luce speak fairly good English; however Marta only speaks Spanish. I do not want the use of English to impede my Spanish language uptake. They have been instructed by PC to use only Spanish when speaking with me, but it is hard for them (and me) to resist using English when I am not able to understand. I must try harder and insist they use Spanish only.

Luce has a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering. I am still learning about the rest of the family.

Tomorrow they will take me on a walking tour of the City, finally getting out and about in Mexico!

So begins a new chapter in my life....

We Are The White Roosters (Okay)

The local fútbol team in Querétaro is the Gallos Blancos. This year I made an effort to learn more about the game, especially with the move to Mexico coming and the ongoing FIFA games. I have to admit I really started getting into the excitement of the game and look forward to attending some games over the next couple of years while in Mexico. Attending a live game should prove interesting!

So I checked into the local team to find out more about the Gallos Blancos (White Roosters):

• Our colors are azul y negro for home games, blanco y negro for away.
• We are in the Primera División of Mexican football league system.
• The team's official foundation is July 8, 1950.
• Home games played at La Corregidora stadium in Santiago de Querétaro. (45,547 seats).
• Family based supported team, which includes several "porras" like "Esperanza Blanca", "Tradicional" and "La Corregidora".
• Fastest growing "barras" is the Resistencia Albiazul, formerly known as "Rebeldía Queretana", whose chants or "porras" have become a powerful encourager to the team.
• Rivalries with teams Club Irapuato, Club Celaya and Salamanca FC. Fiercest rivalries are with Club León and San Luis FC.

I need to pick up a vuvuzela somewhere!

Less Than Six Weeks To Go!

I am starting to get a little nervous now as I prepare lists of what should be packed and what should not, but at the same time I am ever more confident that this is the correct direction for me to take. From corresponding with a few of the other invitees in my group I think the feelings are common.

Spanish Level-II is behind me now, but I continue with self study. During Spanish Level-I earlier this winter I was invited to sit in with my professor's husband's Level-III class. The class had dropped to one student and they invited me out of their support for my Peace Corps Mexico quest. It really helped me to progress and is now allowing me to move through the material faster on my own. I so want to improve my language skills so I can be more effective while serving in Mexico.

...less than six weeks to go!

Old Man Time - Kate Rusby

The Peace Corps Invitation

Nearly 11 months to the day that I first began entering data into the Peace Corps (PC) online application, the invitation to serve arrived. The email notifying me that an invitation is on the way had arrived on May 5th (Cinco de Mayo), very appropriate. The departure will likely be sometime in September.

Here is a summary of the of application process timeline:

June 2009: The PC guidance all along the way has stressed that the patience of waiting during the application process is good practice for actual service. The initial online application took approximately 3 weeks to complete. There are several self narratives that need to be composed, letters of reference, and transcripts to gather. The application process forces you to evaluate yourself, your goals, and expectations in life. I would recommend to anyone who is even remotely thinking about joining the PC to go through the process, if only to evaluate your direction in life.

July 2009: Waiting.

August 2009: Had a 2 hour phone interview with my recruiter. The interview was very probing of my motivations, ability to be open minded culturally, and was extremely interesting. My recruiter was awesome. He requested I forward certain personal history documents 'in case they are needed later'. He knew that those documents would be requested, and this made the subsequent placement officer's work much easier some months later. I am beginning to study Spanish on a regular basis.

September 2009: Next, another phone interview. This time with key personnel from PC Mexico, but only an hour and half this time. They certainly sparked interest in me for the type of projects they are working with in both direct environmental protection, water resources, and public utilities. Prior to the interview it was requested I provide a third person perspective biography on myself. I struggled with this a few days and then decided to write it as I would expect my initial recruiter would have, had I been able to communicate it properly to him. The interview went very well.

October 2009: I receive an automated update from PC stating that my "...application has been withdrawn for consideration". I am on the phone to my recruiter within minutes to ask WHY? He had received a voice mail from an applicant with the same first name requesting to withdraw his application. I keep practicing patience, and Spanish language lessons.

November 2009: I receive a volunteer service nomination letter! I am now working with my PC Placement Officer (PO) who explains that in this case PC Mexico has already requested my service. However, I need to obtain dental, medical, and legal clearances first. Within a week I receive a packet of clearance forms to be completed by my physician, dentist, etc. It takes another 12 weeks to make it over this hurdle.

December 2009: Most of December was spent going to the doctor, going the County Health Department for blood analysis (4 lab reports) and immunizations (3 shots), and the dentist. The dentist was fabulous, I explained what I was doing and of the PC reimbursement limit and he performed all he xrays, exam, and a cleaning without exceeding the budget. I know he normally would charge 2 or 3 times that amount, the whole staff there was very supportive.

January 2010: The dental/medical clearance forms were sent to PC just before the end of December, so January was a waiting month. I enrolled in Spanish-I at the local community college. It feels strange, but good, to be back in school.

February 2010: Received dental clearance, but the pre-screening assistant from the Office of Medical Services requested some additional information from my doctor on the medical clearance submittal. It seems my physical exam indicated that I was on the border of pre-hypertension/Stage-I hypertension (high blood pressure).

March 2010: I spent several weeks increasing my exercise routine and watching my diet (no salt/sodium, etc) in an effort lower the blood pressure naturally, but each time I visited doctor the pressure measurements actually were higher than the last visit! I asked the doctor to place me on blood pressure medication, and the readings dropped well into the normal range. After sending off the additional requested information I received medical clearance within a couple weeks.

April 2010: Legal clearance was issued and now the only items remaining are the placement and invitation. I contacted my Placement Officer towards the end of the month and she indicated that an invitation would be sent out within two weeks. On a side note, I have stopped taking my blood pressure medicine, but continue to monitor it. My doctor believes I have "white-coat" syndrome where the strange surroundings of the doctor's office cause a persons blood pressure to elevate. I beleive the anxiety of PC process in conjunction with the white-coat syndrome caused my blood pressure to rise. Since stopping the medication my blood pressure has been in the normal range most of the time, with it occaisionally stepping up to the low pre-hypertension range. I will continue to monitor it and keep the medication on hand just in case.

May 5th, 2010: Its Cinco de Mayo and an email arrived stating an invitation is in the mail for me! Could not have happened on a more fitting day, although I understand that Cinco de Mayo is more of an American advertising devise to sell more beer and not widely celebrated in Mexico. Regardless, I celebrated with a cerveza ;)

PS: I aced the Spanish-I course!