Update

Hello All,

It has been a while since we last talked. I apologize for not giving more updates, but the family I am living with does not have internet. The last few days have been quite busy so I have a lot to tell you. Day five (Jan 29) was moving day. On moving day people seemed to be dropping like flies and many different people from our group, including Nancy, were sick. Nancy and I were picked up at the hotel by our host mother Esmeralda and her two sons Jose (2 years old) and Aaron (15 years old). The family has a 12 year old housekeeper named Melissa and I am not sure whether or not she lives here (it’s a weird dynamic between her and the family). Also, none of them speak a word of English.

 The house is really interesting. When you walk in there is a courtyard with a closed kitchen on the left and three bedrooms for students in a square around the courtyard. There is a family room across from my room and stairs that lead to the second floor where the family lives. My bedroom is quite large and has two beds, yet I have it to myself. Nancy’s room is much smaller but also nice. We also have a very nice woman from Halifax living here named Kim. She is taking classes at the language school and is fluent in Spanish which helps Nancy and I communicate with the family. I should also mention that Esmeralda is an awesome cook.

The past few days have been quite busy and I still have not had a day off to sleep and do laundry. Needless to say, my clothes are pretty nasty. We have had various guest speakers but the highlight for me so far has been the last two days. Yesterday (Jan 30) half of the group went to a village called Monte Zion which is about 30 minutes away from San Cristobal. This village is part of the Chamula indigenous group and they had been expelled from their community 15 years ago for converting religions to evangelicalism. When they were expelled, they were only able to take with them what they could carry and there was some violence against the people being kicked out. As a result, the entire community lives in extreme poverty. I won’t get into much more detail now, but what we did was sat down with a family in their home and spoke with them about how they live and then got a tour of the village.

Today (Jan 31) I went with Paul of the Arthur Frederick Community Builders to see one of his projects in the village of Temtoj. This project is one where he is teaming with a man named Peter to build them a water collection system that is aimed at getting them through the dry season. Previously, Paul built them a school and a playground so he has a good relationship with the people in the village. After Temtoj I went around with Paul and Peter and saw some different project that the AFCB had done years ago. Once I got back to the city and met up with the group, we had a presentation from an organization called Save the Children which focuses on education of vulnerable kids. All in all it was a good day.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to email me but don’t be offended if I don’t answer right away because I am finding it difficult to access the internet.

Adios,

Scott