TravelStream™ news feed for member gemmadavies2000 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/gemmadavies2000 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:09:32 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1215278520/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1215278520/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1215278520/tpod.html Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:09:32 -0400 My experiences while I am working in Mexico

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Palenque, Central Mexico and Gulf Coast, Mexico

Hi everyone,

Greetings from sunny Mexico!

Here is the lastest. It has been awhile since my last blogg, sorry things have been really busy! plus time has just flown by, time flies when you are having fun, yeah! so much has happened! I will start off from where I left my last blogg.

When my parents left I returned back to work which was great. It was so good to have a break but it was also nice to go back, being greeted by the boys asking where I had been. They were so interested to hear whether mum and dad liked Mexico.

Shortly after this I unfortunality became ill, not nice being in Mexico! But you will all be pleased to hear that I back to normal now, fighting fit! Thank god after having a month of hell! The Mexican bugs and the lack of nutrition finally caught up with me. I had bugs living in my stomach, how gross!!! something I would not recommend.

In the beginning of June I went traveling for two weeks in the North of Mexico. I have many stories to tell, the funniest being thrown off a horse into sewage whilist riding in the copper cannon, silly horse!. I have photos of this to amuse you which I am going to put on the internet.

My trip started off at Los Mochis which is the start of a 12 hour train ride through the copper cannon. As you can imagine this was absolutely amazing. Through the cannon was lush scenery, lakes, streams and waterfalls.I never thought Mexico could be as green! I think the staff on the train thought I was mad because I did not sit down for hours. There was so much to see and take photos of and if you go to the end of the carriage you can photos without a window, hence why I was on my feet for hours. Ah, it was well worth it!!!

My next stop was Creel. This is a tiny village which was a great a stop for horseriding. I asked for muy tranquilo caballo (very calm horse). I was assured this could be arranged, ha! was this a Mexican ressurance??? I had no choice but to wait and find out. To start off with it was alittle trickly as the rules of riding here are different. If you pull the rains more than once (meaning stop in England) it means go here! My horse took off several times before I realised this, but not as much as another person I was riding with, ha! I remember him shooting past me, asking me how to stop, I advised him to pull the rains, opps!!! he had never horse riden before, bless!

We rode into one of the cannons and saw a big waterfall, amazing! On the way back we were heading through the forest when it started to rain preceeding with sleat! I had a flaskback I was in England on the Quantocks!!!! We then came to a stream which looked pretty wild. I was behind the leading horse, lucky me! The leader went through, I was not so sure, nor was my horse (Toñia), who was behaving at this point! I managed to stop her and then the leader shouted to me and my horse to come, with this she went crazy as she was scared. I knew I was doomed when she went up onto a high bank. I remember looking down at this running water thinking, no!!!! again I tried to stop her she had understood what the leader had said and was off! She jumped into the stream, oh no! When in the stream I could see and smell lots of sewage coming. The rain had obviously cleared the drain, nice!!! In the middle of the stream trouble started, Toñia being in a panick fell over, with me on her up to my waste in sewage. She was stuck, did not know where to go, despite my trusting instructions! She was rearing an freaking out, just a tiny bit! I knew I was going to come off at somepoint as she was not a happy bunny. I lead her to the side and she threw he off, half in the sewage and half on the back. Phew at least I was ok and not being swept through the south of Mexico in a stream! She continued to be abit carzy after that so yeah after 4 hour ride I was pleased to see the shower!, Naughty Toñia! so yeah the Mexican meaning of calm is different to mine, ha! It was all part of the adventure though!!! I would not change my first experience of riding in Mexico.

After the excitment of Creel I heading to Chihuaha, cowboy land! I did not stay here for long as it was so hot and I did not feel at ease, but I did stay long enough to purchase a pair of cowboy boots!!

My next stop was Zacatecas. I stayed here for 4 days as it was just so nice, very clean and relaxed! Meet some really nice people and the hostel I stayed in was so cheap. The weather was perfect and lots to see. Many fab art museums among other things.

I then returned to Mexico City for my final week of work. I went back to work into the centre after I was ill as walking in the heat allday was too much. It was great to be back in the centre as I knew the routines and could spend my last few weeks with the children. Having learnt more spanish, I could now understand everything that was going on, great! I appreciate knowing more spanish, makes life easier and fun!. On my last day one of the boys was in a bad mood. I gave him too much toothpaste or more than what he wanted and he asked why whether he had teeth like a donkey! ha, ha!!!

I finished work on Tuesday which was very sad, I did a presentation and the boys did some speeches which were lovely. I am going to miss the boys and it feels funny to be leaving it all behind but of course I am excited about my travels!

I am traveling now until 24th July as I am going back for the huge party in Mexico City before I fly home which is 2nd August. After leaving the city my first stop was Tobassco. Here there is some archeology and not much else so just a quick stop to break up the 18 hour bus journey.

At the moment I am in Palenque which again is known for archeology among other things. I went to some ruins this morning. Yesterday I went to some lakes and waterfalls, truly amazing!. It is so pretty here, another one of my favourite places, partly because of the accomodation. I am staying in a little hut located in the jungle in alittle village 6km from Palenque. The village is very earthy, it really reminds me of glastonbury, Lisa and Tess you would love it!!! I was going to sleep in a hammock in the jungle but have decided against this as I am being eaten to death by insects, they really like english blood. Plus it rains alot because it is so hot. So yeah have stayed an extra day here as I like it so much! Tomorrow I am heading to San Cristobol with is another part of Chiapas. Not sure of my exact plans after Chiapas apart from from Oaxaca. A good thing about traveling, you have no plan!

I hope everyone is well. I am going to try and attach a few photos now, hope it works.

Take care and I will see you all in under a month!!

Gemma x :)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1207411920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1207411920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1207411920/tpod.html Sun, 06 Apr 2008 13:50:48 -0400 My experiences while I am working in Mexico

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Mexico City, Mexico

Hi everyone,

Hope you all well! I have so much to say as I have been pretty busy the last couple of months, it is difficult to know where to start, I should do a blogg more regularly!

Since my last blogg I have moved house. I am now living in a flat with one other volunteer from Japan (Hiromi). It is much better than my last house as I have my own room now. There are still things to be done before it is homely but as I have learnt these things take time in Mexico, a long time!! patience is a nessecity here! I now have a bed, a wardrobe and a camping stove after waiting three weeks. I live abit further north of the city so it takes me longer to get to work but it is much better as it is quieter so I do not mind traveling the extra distance. Hiromi is really nice and she does not speak English so another positive my Spanish is going to improve.

When we first moved into the flat Canitias gave us a mouse each. But now they have decided to move out now as they have eaten all our food, ha! They must have had parties when we were out because according to Hiromi they were getting fatter. Hiromi used to see them more than I did as they took a liking to her room! They preferred it than mine, I was not offended though!

I have been doing a bit more traveling and now I have the bug to see the whole of Mexico! Before my parents came I went to Puebla, Cholula and Tonantzintla. I saw lots of amazing churches in Puebla as it is more religious than in D.F. That is another thing I am learning that each part of Mexico is so different and has its own culture. I have now worked out how to put my photos on line so they are their way.

As many of you are aware mum and dad came to Mexico for two weeks which was wonderful! It was so nice to see them and show them around. We spent a week in the city site seeing and went to Xochicalo which is just outside of the city. It has floating gardens so you go on boat and admire the scenery whilst listening to music and having something to eat on a boat, very good!

I took them into Pro Ninos, the boys were very well behaved and polite. I think they were shocked they were street boys. They love having visitors into the centre, I think it is because they feel accepted and it is nice for them to talk to someone different and also they are fascinated in hearing about England. They can no believe it is cold! I try and assure them everytime, ha! Dad sent me a picture of frost, is it that cold????

The second week my parents were here we went to Acapulco for a week to chill! The hotel was wonderful, the best hotel I have every stayed in! One of the best parts was being taken up to our room in a pink jeep! Ah it was great and very hot of course so now I am a little brown. I will not say too much about it because I make you all jealous! all this sunshine!

When in Acapulco we saw the famous cliff divers which was abit hairy. The divers dive from 30 metres into shallow water. There are alot of rocks so they have to time their dive with the wave so that they do not hit the rocks. 5 people have died doing it so as you can imagine it is nerve wracking to watch.

I am sure you will see the many photos of our adventures that dad took with his new camera! They both liked the city although the food and crossing the roads was not an enjoyment. In Mexico cars do not stop at red lights and the roads are very big and busy, nothing like Taunton. I am used to it now but I am sure mum is still having nightmares about crossing the roads now, she did really well gripping onto mine and dads arm, on some occasions she ran, I am sure out of fear, bless!

They went home on Wednesday so I have only worked two days this week. I am still working on the street and I think I will be until I leave which is great as I prefer it than working in the centre. You have the best of both worlds working on the street because you get to see the city and spend a little time in the centre. You get to understand more about their circumstances and obviously you see where they live which is shocking at times! I am learning more about the problems Mexico has with children living on the street. Drug use (Glue) is obviously a big problem and many of the boys prostitute themselves to get money for glue and food. One child sold his kidneys, these are just some examples, as you can imagine they go to extremes to get money.

It is very rewarding when you meet a child on the street and they come to the centre. Because they are able to shower, eat and play. I do not recognize some of them when we are clean. They behave different in the centre than they do on the street, well most of the time! I think it is because they respect what we do, helping them to leave the street, if that is what they decide.

The weather here is getting warmer, the past couple of days it has been about 37 degrees and even hotter on the metro. I have been told it will get a little hotter so I think I will have a nice tan by the time I come back.

Must go and download some photos now, and do some shopping so that I can cook a meal on my little camping stove, should be interesting!

Miss you all,

Gemma x
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1203183660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1203183660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1203183660/tpod.html Sat, 16 Feb 2008 14:12:18 -0500 My experiences while I am working in Mexico

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Mexico City, Mexico

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all well! Thank you for all your messages, I will reply but it may take me a little time as I have a huge backlog of emails as things have been very busy!

As you can see from the title of my blogg, I have started street work, yippee! I am not sure whether I have explained before that there are three stages to the project I am working in. The first stage is Street Work, the second stage is Central de Dia (the day centre) and the third stage is Option de Vida (finding the children a place to live). Before I was working in Central de Dia and I was beginning to get a bit bored of the the same routine and was forming an opinion (which was not always welcome!) so it is so nice to have a change.

The street work is so different and is not as tiring as the Centre as you have not got children jumping on you all you day, although I do miss the constant interaction at times. I will tell you the routine so that you have some kind of idea what I am doing apart from walking the streets! Each volunteer is matched with a educator so you work in pairs. You meet with your educator at the agreed metro station, usually about 8am. You then search for children and if you find any you tell them about the project and encourage them to come along. You then return the centre about 9.30am and spend some time in the centre before breakfast. Breakfast is at 10.30am then you go back onto the streets at 11.30am until 2pm. Then you have lunch and play with the children in the day centre for a bit before they return to the street. So there is alot of walking so you get a chance to see the city! It does get hot at times though so I invested in a sun hat as I do not want to look like a beetroot!

So far I have worked with two different educators. They first educator I was with spoke a little English but the one I am with now speaks no English, or very little!!!. She is from Spain so her accent is different so I struggle to understand her at times and she likes to talk alot which is great but my brain gets very tired after a couple of hours! She asks me lots of questions so you can not pretend to listen! which I have tried to do when I was feeling tired and she soon noticed as I had no idea what she was talking about! so now I try my best to listen very hard and usually go home with a massive headache! She is really nice though, very dedicated and walks so fast!!! even though she has little legs!! She has been working on the streets for two years so she knows her stuff which is great because she is able to tell me more about the problems they have with the street children in Mexico. I feel my Spanish will improve more now because I having to speak it!

The people that we have met so far on the streets have been great, only one adult has freaked me out a bit! They are very welcoming and willing to speak to you apart from when they are so high on glue they can not communicate! We have been lucky in that we have brought two children to the centre within a space of about two weeks. They were both very calm and only sniffing glue so we could get them into the centre quickly. Usually they have to do at least 5 sessions with the street worker before they can come to the centre and if they are doing crack then it may take longer, as it is very addictive and they need a fix often and obviously when they come to the centre they have to be able to go for a whole day without taking drugs.

One of the boys we found had only been on the street for one month so he was motivated for change as obviously the longer they have been on the street it harder for them to see change. So when you first meet a child you introduce yourself and tell them where you are from. You ask whether they are interested in leaving the street if they are you continue to ask how old they are, how long they have been on the street and what drugs they are taking. If all then goes well you play a game with them on the street, the favorite card game is uno!! and if you loose you usually have to do press-ups, about 10! so I am now becoming an expert in this game as doing press-ups on the streets is kind of weird but I am no longer embarrassed now as so many times people have been looking at me as if I am crazy. So anyway when we were playing with one boy a couple of drug dealers came over and did a deal right in front on us. It was so hard to say anything and not to react. The boy had a bottle of glue (which you can buy for about 30 pesos or about one pound fifty) and the dealers were giving him tissue to wet with the glue. The boy was then given money for the wet tissue (about 2 pesos) which then the dealer will sell on. Glue is a huge problem because it is so cheap and a child can buy the wet tissue off the dealer for about 5 pesos. Although the affect does not last for long it is a short time in which the children can escape reality.

As you can see from what I am writing it is so interesting and gives you a real in-site into the society`s problems. There is so much to tell..... their living conditions are bad as you can imagine, you find many asleep in the subway stations and many sleep in the day as if it too cold for them to sleep at night. Plus many of them work at night. This makes them more difficult to find as often they are sleeping so you have to search the bushes and in parks.

There seems to be a great sense of community spirt though. The stall holders and the people that work in the metro stations are helpful as they tell us whether there are any children in the area and they tell us if they know where they are staying so that we can find them. At the moment we are looking for a boy who has returned to the street. He left the centre two weeks ago and went to drug rehab but found it too hard so he left. So we are now searching for him.

Apart from work I have been busy doing other things. I went to see many butterflies the other weekend in Micuican. This is a place about 3 hours from d.f. The butterflies migrate there from Canada every year. It was amazing! There were so many you that could hear their wings flapping. It was so peaceful as it was in the forest. I took some photos that I can share with you all when I return.

I have also been helping out with teaching English in the evening and I have started running again! with no pain, yeah! I am up to about 5km but it is such hard work because of the altitude and the pollution. I usually run at night so I do not get too hot. I would love to do a race here in Mexico so it is important I am keep it up.

I have just recovered again from eating too much chili so I have not managed to run today! The food is still as gross as ever!!! although the goats head as gone, yippee! That is one bad thing about doing street work..... the constant smell of meat cooking and lots of raw chickens on stalls for sell! and many still have their heads on!!! what is the obsession with leaving their heads on???? I ask all you meat eaters...... does that make it look more yummy???? to me NO! and the chickens are yellow here! nothing surprises me in Mexico anymore, ha!

Thank you again for all your messages, I love hearing from you all as even though I am having a great time, I miss you all and it is great to hear what you are up to.

Take care,

Gemma x
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1199035260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1199035260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1199035260/tpod.html Sun, 30 Dec 2007 13:43:24 -0500 My experiences while I am working in Mexico

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Mexico City, Mexico

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all well! I know it has been awhile since I have written, things at work have been really busy! Happy Christmas to everyone!! in Spanish... Feliz Navidad!! I really do not know where to start it has been so long since I have written a blogg so be prepared for a long one.

Work has been really good over the past month, we have about 10 boys attending the center regularly and they are lovely! well most of the time! They have adjusted to the routines in the center really well and they are starting to do their chores i.e. bringing their washing in without being asked. As you can imagine this is an achievement as now all the volunteers work together so they know they can not get away with anything. Even though I know little Spanish I am managing to get my point across!

As you can imagine Christmas is a hard time for the boys as they have no family. Pro Ninos recognize this so all through the month of December they go on day trips and get lots of treats. Hence me working longer hours as many of the day trips were far away out of the city. We took them to the pyramids which was the best trip for me, more about them later! We also took them on boats, ice skating, swimming, to museums and to the cinema. They also saw father Christmas.

The boys are now on a camp, they left before Christmas and will return after new year. Before they went on the camp they had a Christmas party (a pasada, I will explain more about these later), broke a pinata and went to the cinema with all the staff and volunteers. It was such a nice atmosphere in the center and the children were very excited as you can imagine. One of the boys has been on the streets since he was 4 years old. He does not know who his mother is and witnessed his father being shot. So yeah his circumstances are pretty bad and when we took him swimming it took him awhile to get into the water because he was scared after while we persuaded him to get in and he loved it in fact we had difficulty getting him out of the water because he was having such a good time! It was so nice to see the smile on his face!

Ice skating was so much fun, the boys were helping me to skate as many of you know skating is not my strongest point. At one stage I had a boy on either side of me escorting me around the ring and I made it without falling over, yeah! It was so nice for them to help me as usually it is the other way around.

Now I will tell you more about how Mexicans celebrate Christmas! You all know the story of the nights leading up Jesus being born. Mary and Joseph were trying to find a place to stay, well the 9 days leading up to Christmas there are big celebrations called pesadas. A pasada is a celebration when Mary and Joesph are finding a place to stay. The locals carry figures of Mary and Joseph down the street and knock on the nominated house in the village. They ask if they can enter with Mary and Joseph. There are people stood outside on the street with the figures and candles. They sing hymes to the people who are stood in the house. When Mary and Joseph are accepted into the house they say prayers and put Mary and Joseph in a little Nativity scene that is set up in the house. After this they have a party which involves Mexican food (Moley, which is chicken mixed with chili and chocolate, sounds gross but it does not taste too bad although I would choose a McDonald's over Moley!). They then dance and break a pinata, which is such good fun, this is one of the traditions that I will be bringing back to England as I know my niece will love it!

As I said people all over Mexico have pasadas and everyone gets involved, it is kind on like a street party, everyone is welcome. I went to two pesadas and did lots of dancing, well I was being taught. It is so hard, a girl who was six years old was teaching me and she could not believe that I could not dance! She was amazing and only 6 years old! The second pesada I went to was on Christmas eve which of course is the 9th one. So on this one after the prayers and hymes a model of baby Jesus was placed in the cribb. So yeah as you imagine Christmas is a big celebration here with the main day on 24th on the 9th pesada.

On the 25th we celebrated Christmas the English, Swedish and Japanese way. All the volunteers came to our house for dinner. We had chicken, veg and Swedish meatballs. We sung carols and hymes (in different languages), has a few drinks and broke a pinata, it has to be done as we are in Mexico. Even though I had fun it was not the same as being at home and I miss everyone so much, it has hit me quiet hard the past couple of days, but I have managed to speak to my family which has been great!

I start back to work on the 2nd January so am going to chill out for a bit as I am so tired.

I went to the pyramids the other day, it was absolutely amazing, my favorite place in Mexico so far! It was so peaceful and the view from the top was amazing, I have lots of photos!!! The tallest pyramid was 60 m in height so I am still feeling it in my legs. I recommend it to anyone who comes here, mum and dad we must go when you come! don`t worry you can rest inbetween the levels so you can give your legs a rest!

Not sure what my plans are for new year, will probably have some of the volunteers over for dinner. The rest of my house mates have gone away traveling with their family so the house is very quiet, nice!! I have forgotten what it is like to have my own space. Although at present we have not had water for three days which is proving to be a challenge. The past couple of days I have had a bath with a bucket of cold water just like in the old days! as you can imagine I am not impressed! I keep complaining to the landlady so hopefully it should be sorted soon.

What else is there to report............... my living situation has changed. I am living in the same house but I am now living with Emma, Patrick and Tobi. We get on alot better as living with the two other girls before got very difficult. I now have my own room in the hall way, it only has three walls but I love it as it my own room and I have recognized that I need my own space. I now have a wardrobe and a bed, yeah!!! these are luxuries!

Right must go, I am going to treat myself to a starbucks! it is Christmas after all!! happy new year to everyone!!!

take care

Gemma x
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1194473040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1194473040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1194473040/tpod.html Wed, 07 Nov 2007 18:26:35 -0500 My experiences while I am working in Mexico

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Mexico City, Mexico

Hi everyone,

I can not believe I have eaten pigs skin (on more than one occasion) without realising what it was. It tasted like crisps so obviously it is thin pieces of skin deep fried. I did enjoy it at the time (ha!) but never again as the thought of eating someones skin makes me feel ill! gross! As I have said before the Mexicans eat lots of meat. Every morning when I walk to work I have to pass this stool which cooks tacos on the side of the street and the smell of the meat cooking makes me feel sick. I found out this week that it is goats meat and they have a goats head on the side (including teeth!) and this is too show that they cook real goats meat which is supposed to be very expensive. I must say I have been put off eating meat again!

Last week across Mexico there have been lots of displays to celebrate "day of the dead". This is a time when the Mexican`s celebrate people dying, kind of strange I know! The idea behind it is to bring children up not to be afraid of dying and obviously it is a day to remember those of have died. In the parks and graveyards there are displays that contain flowers, figures of skeleton's made out of papermache, candles and food. They are all very colorful because obviously Mexicans see it as a happy occasion. In the graveyards family and friends put food down that was liked by their loved ones. Often fruit and a cake which is covered in sugar is put down. The food is put down because it is believed that putting food down feeds the souls of the dead people so that their spirits can be kept alive. The cake feeds the bones of the dead people and I have been told that the fruit has no significance. The displays were wonderful and a lot of time and effort is gone into preparing for this occasion. At Pro Ninos we did a display with the children and they really enjoyed it, especially making the papermache figures. I think it is great that the organization gives them the opportunity to do things that the children would do if they were at home or at school.

Pro Ninos has been really rewarding the past month. Two of the children now have accommodation in a care home, lets hope they stay there! as many decide to leave because they find it hard to cope with having to stick to rules and to have boundaries. I know there are problems in care homes but at least they are off the street. These two boys are so happy to have somewhere to live and I asked them if they liked it and they said yes. One boy said he is happy because he is no longer cold at night, bless!. They both have new clothes and have had hair cuts and they are loving it!

The other rewarding parts have been hearing about Pro Ninos and their successes. Between 1997 - 2006 Pro Ninos helped 615 children to leave the street.

The founder (Abuelo) of Pro Ninos retired two weeks ago and that was a sad day for the children and staff. There was a big party and lots of the boys made speeches to say thanks for everything he and Pro Ninos have done for them. There were comments like...... you rescued me from the streets, you have been like a father to me..... yes it was very emotional. There were lots of tears from everyone, what an amazing guy though!!

People have been asking me about the ghosts and spirits in Canitas street where I live and I did say I would tell you more! Well we live very close to this famous house which is haunted. There has been a film and a book written about it which I going to read when my Spanish has improved. Apparently a family lived there and they all ended up going crazy because the house is controlled by spirits. I am not sure how much I believe but there is only one survivor of the family and now the house is boarded up and there is barbed wire on the top and a sign saying no entry. Although some one told me other day you go and look around the house as it is famous but I am not sure if I want to go just yet although I does sound interesting. Anyhow the good news is we are moving in two weeks time just down the road into a bigger house, that means less there is less chance of me going mad if it is true, ha! Not sure whether it is going to be a good thing as there is going to be 10 of us in one house with 5 bedrooms! Still one good thing is at least we will have water. Where we live now there is a huge problem with the water and last weekend we did not have any water all weekend, a huge problem!

Anyway must go, hope everyone is well and it is good to hear you all enjoy reading my blogg!

Take care,

Gemma x


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1193010420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1193010420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1193010420/tpod.html Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:15:11 -0400 My experiences while I am working in Mexico

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Mexico City, Mexico

Hi everyone,

I hope you are all well! As you can see from the title of my blogg I have been doing alot of office work this week. The organisation I am working for has there 25th anniversary on 5th November and as volunteers we are required to take in turns to prepare for the big day. It is going to be a big celebration where they hope to get more sponsors (Pro Ninos gets all its money from sponsors). I am told it is going to be a posh affair so I am required to dress very smart, think I may have to get some new clothes then!!! So yeah I have been photocopying and wrapping prizes for the raffle. It has been abit dull but I do get to spend time and eat breakfast and dinner with the children so it is not all bad.

This week it was Emma´s birthday so I cooked an English roast for her. That was the first roast I have had since I left england but it was no where as nice as my mums!!!

It was funny because I went on my own to get the ingredients from Walmart and on the way I saw one of the street children I work with. I came out of the station at a different exit and I thought I knew where I was going!! Anyway I was walking and he shouted out after me and ran after me. I was on edge as this child can be very unpredictable at times!! anyway he was very nice and told me I was going the wrong way, I was not convinced but he assured me I was and said he would show me the way. I was very on edge but walked with him and he showed me short cut!! great!!! we had a chat on the way and he told me he lived around there, think I will avoid that area in future! and he told me he loved living on the street and that he sleeps in the doorway to the bank at night. On the way I also saw another child I knew washing car windscreens as the cars were stopped at traffic lights. The educators at work have said that often a child does not want to leave the street and it takes time for them to make the decision to have a better life. This boy has been coming to the centre for about 2 months, it will be interesting whether in time he will change his mind. I am learning so much about other peoples circumstances and am beginning to understand the real meaning of poverty! I just need to crack the Spanish now that I am still finding very hard!

I have not done any street work yet as they rotate the rota every month. I am pleased in a a way because it gives me more time to learn Spanish.

The weather is lovely and hot here, I really can not imagine it being cold in England!!! although yesterday was abit nippy, I had to wear my jumper for most of the day!!

must go and rest now, I have an early start in the morning!

Gemma x
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1192411920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1192411920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1192411920/tpod.html Sun, 14 Oct 2007 21:48:36 -0400 My experiences while I am working in Mexico

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Mexico City, Mexico

Hi everyone,

Hope you are well! This week has been a quiet week so not so much to report but I wanted to do a quick entry.

Work is continuing to be challanging although friday was the best day I have had since I have been there. The boys were very well behaved and there was only one naughty boy there and all his naughty friends did not turn up, what a shame!! ha!!! it was a very peaceful day!

There are less boys in the centre at the moment as over the past couple of weeks about 5 boys have left the street. One has gone back home and the others have gone to live in a residentual centre, how great is that!! It is sad to see them go but I am so happy that they are going to have a better life. Alot of the boys in the centre at the moment are working towards leaving the street. One boy stood up and made an anouncement that he has decided to leave the street because he no longer wants to cold at night, bless, it was very emotional and he got a big clapp!! he is only 12 years old and a lovely boy, he will get there because he is working really well with the staff.

The boys have been more respectful this week and they are learning from me that I will only help them if they say please, ha! they are very demanding at times and just shout at you so I am trying to teach them to ask nicely and it is working! It is causing great amusement as I just stand there waiting for the magic word!

Last night we went to a party as it is Emma`s birthday on thursday so today I am very tired. The rest of the weekend has consited of cleaning. The house is looking alot better and now all the lights work, yeah!

Anyway must go as I am going to walk back with my housemate as it is very dark!!!! there is are ghosts around here, I will tell you more in my next blogg, keep watching!!

Gemma x
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1191774240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1191774240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1191774240/tpod.html Sun, 07 Oct 2007 12:56:03 -0400 My experiences while I am working in Mexico

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Mexico City, Mexico

Hi everyone,

As you can see from the title of my entry, I am now in the flat, yippeee! I moved on Monday night and have been busy making it like home! I am sharing with three other girls, Emma (from London), Sanya (from Germany) and Sarah (from Sweden). I am sharing a room with Emma which was a nightmare the first night as we slept in bunk beds. I have not slept in them since I was a child and they are no where near as nice when you are an adult! Emma slept on the top and she almost broke her neck when she got down to use the loo. I also nearly knocked myself unconscious when I sat up in the middle of the night. So yeah, the next day we dismantled the bed and now we are sleeping on the flour which is much better! I am almost fully unpacked now and have been doing some DIY. For those of you that know me well, you know I am very good at doing technical things around the house! but I managed to put a washing line up, what an achievement!

Work has been really tough this week. I am still working in the day centre and some (not all!) have been very disrespectful to all of the volunteers.

We took the children out for the day on Friday and they were very well behaved, well apart from the occasional fight which is the norm! We went to an adventure park and had an old fashioned sports day. I had to get involved of course!!!! I forgot how hard the sac race is! We also played hide and seek and our team won, yeah! The other activities were not so fun as they involved heights!! The worse thing was the trampoline which was like a catapult shooting you up in the air. I was very brave and went on it but I soon came off when I turned white and was almost sick!!!! The children were pleased I had a go though and were very sympathetic, bless! there is a nice side to them!

Yesterday I found a really big market which sells lots of fresh fruit and veg! They do have healthy food in Mexico, yeah! I stocked up as now I have fridge, luxury!

Must go now and learn some Spanish now, my learning has not increased much over the last week as we can no longer have our classes in the afternoon because they need us at work.

Thank you all again for the messages!

Gemma x
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1190483820/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1190483820/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1190483820/tpod.html Sat, 22 Sep 2007 14:46:39 -0400 My experiences while I am working in Mexico

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Mexico City, Mexico

Hi everyone,

As you can see from the title of my blogg, this week has been tough as the boys have been mi behaving!! There has been lots of fighting between the children and on Wednesday half of the boys were told to leave because they were being so difficult and disrespectful to each other and the staff, including me! Some of the boys have shown there true colors this week by trying to get out of doing their washing! I caught one of them, he was not a happy bunny! They were better towards the end of the week though because they had a huge telling off by the educators. They were so good that they were taken out for the day on a trip which meant that I had the day off, yeah!!! well I had to work in the morning to help get them showered etc....

The Independence day celebrations were great last weekend, very colorful and lively. We had a traditional dinner which was a dish called Bolsoli which is basically like a soup made out of corn and meat with chili in it of course!! It was nice without the meat but was very spicy, so spicy it made my nose run for about an hour after eating it. With it you have tortillas, cream cheese and cheese, yum!! After dinner we had lots of tequila which is so much nicer when it mixed with grapefruit juice!!! we then headed to the centerer where there was a fair, a live band and a talk from the prime minister which is shown on a big screen. The speech is broad casted at midnight and unfortunately we missed it as there was so many people. The celebrations carried on the next day. There was a march through the city of all the people who work for the civil service and at the end there were majorettes and cowboys doing tricks with ropes. It was great to see the traditions and the next big day the Mexicans celebrate is the day of the dead which is in November after Halloween. I will tell you more about it nearer the time.

Last night Emma and I went to the wrestling with someone we work with. It is great because she from Wales so there is no language barrier!! The wrestling was so funny and it huge thing in Mexico, families go to watch it together. There is lots of noise, trumpets and drums to egg the cowed on! There were also women wrestling and they were looked so scary, I would not want to meet them on a dark night!!

This weekend we are taking it easy as we are very tired by being on the go constantly. We are planning to go to the Freda Carla museum tomorrow which apparently has live hairless dogs, can you imagine it, I must take my camera!!

Next Sunday we move into the flat with two other girls. I will be so pleased to move from the nuns!! we almost got in trouble again yesterday as we forgot to tell them we were going to be back late, we saved our skins by ringing them! phew!!!! we have not been told off in a couple of weeks now, yeah!!

Next week should be more challanging as I think I may be doing street work which involves finding children on the street and building a relationship with them so that they can come to the centre. Before a child comes to the centre they have to be invited and to have had at least 5 sessions on the street with the workers. This helps to assess whether they are suitable to the centre. Street work sounds great as it is a way to see the city, I have not been able to do it sooner because of my visa status which has now been changed.

The Spanish has not really improved much this week but now we have text books to learn from so hopefully that will speed up my learning!!!

Hope everyone is well.

Gemma x
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1189813440/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1189813440/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gemmadavies2000/mexico-2007/1189813440/tpod.html Fri, 14 Sep 2007 20:02:33 -0400 My experiences while I am working in Mexico

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Mexico City, Mexico

Hi Guys,

Thank you so much for all the emails and comments, I find them really uplifting, like this whole experience!

This week has been abit more tough as I am feeling very tired, being constantly on the go is catching up with me!

Work has been great but I am still figuring things out. I worked with a different educator today and now I am really confused as he seems to have a totally different routine to everyone else.

I have now done all the duties so I have greated the children into the centre, provided them with clothes, helped them wash their clothes. Oh and how can I forget deodorant duty, which is the least interesting as all you do is spray them as they come out of the shower. The children now do not attempt to grab it off me so I think I have established some boundaries, ha! it only took 1 week!

Tomorrow is Independence day which is a huge celebration here and guess where I am going????? to a party of course!!! Our Spanish teacher has asked us to his house so we are going to experience Independence day in Mexican style. There are lots of decorations up in the streets and lots of flags. I will take lots of photos to share with you all when I get back. I have tried downloading them but I can not get it to work.

Must go, going to reply to some of your emails,

Gemma x
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